Same Crap, Different World
by GeorgysGirl
Summary: Buffy/Stargate Crossover. SG1 stumble on a world with unusual inhabitants and bring in the experts. Rated for language
1. Default Chapter

Title: Same Crap Different World  
  
Author: Wildecate  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Summary: As the title says. SGC end up calling in the experts.  
  
Notes: My muse finally got her butt in gear so here is a re-write plus a new chapter.  
  
"Vampires?"   
  
General Hammond raised a disbelieving eyebrow as Major Samantha Carter answered his question.   
  
"You're expecting me to believe that the entire planet is populated by vampires?"   
  
"Yes sir" Her firm look did not waver but he detected a faint trace of what appeared to be embarrassment in her bright blue eyes.   
  
"We're talking about blood sucking vampires? Like Dracula?"   
  
General Hammond transferred his gaze to Teal'c whose expression did not change. He had not encountered the vampire myth of Earth and so did not understand the astonishment of the SG team. He had come up against many demons in his time on the Stargate project and this was just one more to be met and overcome.   
  
Colonel O'Neill leaned back on his chair tipping it on to back legs until its back leaned against the wall, and swung his legs. He had not enjoyed his first brush with the occult, waking at the campsite to find SG1 surrounded by a gang of vampires.   
  
"The problem is that there are humans who live on that planet. The system lord who has control of this system is Ahmose which, Daniel reliably informs me means The Moon is Born."   
  
Daniel interrupted him excitedly "Very apt when you consider that the world is populated by vampires which require the absence of the sun to move around. They seem to have almost the early hunters attitude considering humans as their prey. They are aware that they are dependant on these humans for food and almost farm them, nurture them to a point. It seems that basically the planet is a penal colony where Ahmose dumps all those who are rebellious and who cause him trouble. The vampires take over from there. They take enough but not too much although when Ahmose dumps a lot of people they go on what might be considered a binge, killing viciously and turning people. The inhabitants have no real leadership, no idea how to fight back against these creatures apart from sunlight."   
  
"The fact is that we need to get back and relocate these people. We asked around some of the camps and it seems that most of the people have been dumped there after having worked in Ahmose's mines and having caused trouble. If you don't know anything about vampires then they're pretty tough to deal with." Sam Carter sighed   
  
"We don't know nearly enough about them as a species."   
  
General Hammond sat back "I know someone who might be able to help. The US Army have been researching this for some time and we have a team who deal with sort of thing."   
  
There was silence for a moment before Jack spoke.   
  
"You mean we have an outfit for vampires?"   
  
"They deal with all kinds of things Colonel. Myths are of course rooted at some point in reality."   
  
"Vampires? On Earth?" Teal'c was confused, turning to Sam Carter for an explanation "I thought you said they were a legend."   
  
"I thought they were" Sam shrugged before looking at the General   
  
"This is a very bizarre situation Sir, we're going to need all the help we can get on this. How soon can this unit get here?"   
  
General Hammond glanced at his watch. "I'll make the necessary arrangements and let you know their ETA. In the meantime, it might pay for you all to get some rest. You look exhausted. Dismissed."   
  
SG1 filed obediently out of the room with only Jack lagging behind.   
  
"Is there a problem Colonel?" Hammond asked   
  
"There's a team that deals with vampires?" Jack asked "I'm only asking to clarify my mind on this subject but we head out through that gate all the time, facing god knows what on the other side, but we still haven't dealt with all the horrors of this world. What else is there that we don't know about?"   
  
Hammond leaned back in his chair "Jack, we've been friends for a long time now so I'm not going to mess you around when I tell you that I don't know. I honestly don't know. What I do know is that this team deal with this sort of thing all the time."   
  
"But if vampires are real in this world, god knows what else is? Santa Claus?"   
  
"We don't have a team to deal with him" said Hammond showing his rare humour "but these guys are good and now doubt they'll fill you in on all the rest of the nasties. Now get some rest Jack. It's going to be a long haul to get this done."   
  
Sam lay on her bed gazing up at the concrete ceiling. She had spent an instructive hour phishing the net for information on the occult and the supernatural and had learned more than she had ever wanted to know about Dungeons and Dragons not to mention some fairly amazing hokum that she was sure would never work. She had learned very little other than what appeared to be well known facts about vampires and was now feeling quite frustrated. There was one other thing which kept cropping up which was a term she had not heard before. Vampire Slayer. She remembered the book which she had skimmed through in the base library, Dracula. It had mentioned not a vampire slayer but a vampire hunter named Van Helsing. Was a vampire slayer the same sort of thing? It did not mention anything specific only that one was chosen in each generation to stand against the vampires. Perhaps there was a way of finding out if this part of the myth was true. She wondered if there was a way of finding out who this person was. She sat herself up again and booted her computer back up. There was a noise at the door and she glanced up. Colonel O'Neill stood there, lounging in the door way.   
  
"Couldn't resist the research Carter?" he asked lazily taking in her neatly written notes on the pad beside the PC.   
  
"It's fascinating Sir, imagine a whole other world that we never dreamed existed. What we thought of as myth is reality. The monster that you were scared of that lived under your bed is true and not some scary dream you had."   
  
Jack O'Neill looked discomforted. "Hey, there was no monster under MY bed."   
  
"You know what I mean Sir" she gestured to her notes. "The very first mention of a vampire goes back to 1047 where the word 'upir' referred to a Russian prince as a wicked vampire, 'Upir Lichy'. There are several sets of chronicles throughout the last thousand or so years, William of Newburgh in 1196, The Malleus Maleficarium, by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. A book that essentially tells you how to hunt and kill vampires."   
  
"Well that's just great Carter, why don't we just read that and head on out?" drawled O'Neill. Carter gave him a glare and he grinned back unaffected.   
  
"There's something else Sir." She handed him her notes and he skim read them, picking out the important points before dropping the pad back on the desk.   
  
"Vampire Slayer" he asked sceptically "what the hell is that?" 


	2. Meet The Finns

General Hammond got hold of the specialist team and they were on the base 6 hours later, having flown in from somewhere in Southern Brazil. They looked tired and grubby but ready for anything. The team was four strong, three men one woman. The leader, introduced as Riley Finn, shook hands with SG1 and listened to General Hammond go through the situation on the planet. The "demon team", as O'Neill had started referring to them privately in his head, took the confidentiality of the Stargate Project as read.   
  
Their own work was also top secret and they did not seem at all surprised about the discovery and subsequently research and then journeys through the Stargate. The expression on Riley Finn's conventionally handsome face did not change as General Hammond elaborated on the circumstances. General Hammond finished the briefing and turned to Riley Finn.   
  
"OK, Agent Finn, can you just run through basically the type of work you do, your normal approach to this sort of thing?"   
  
Riley Finn, tall, handsome, blonde haired and blue eyed got to his feet. O'Neill instantly hated him but couldn't figure out why. He was too perfect, everything about him from his gleaming smile to his perfectly mussed up hair seemed too perfect.   
  
"We deal with most types of demon, from the normal vampire to the more unusual demon. The usual approach for a vampire is a stake through the heart, decapitation, fire or sunlight. Any of those four options will kill. Holy water, religious signs or garlic also help although they won't kill. For them and any other kind of demon we use whatever we can lay our hands on, stun guns, swords, flamethrowers. We've got a pretty extensive arsenal." He smiled and O'Neill saw Carter return the smile and felt the irrational hate bubble up in him.   
  
"To be honest with you, we are capable of handling this but we would need to think long term. Do we want to kill all the vampires on the planet? Do we want to move the human prisoners off and declare the planet dangerous?"   
  
"We hadn't actually thought that far ahead" Carter said "At this point, my research has been on how to get rid of vampires."   
  
Riley grinned "In that case we'll need help. And I know just the person to do it."   
  
"Sir, can I have a word please?" The brunette to Agent Finn's left spoke and, with an apologetic look at Hammond, she and Riley moved into a corner away from the table, speaking softly.   
  
"You can't get her involved in this, Riley" Samantha Finn   
  
whispered "You know how she feels about the military"   
  
"She'll want to help Sam. An entire planet populated by vampires? It's practically her duty to help."   
  
"Yes, in this world! She's the Slayer and it is her job in this world. You can't burden her with this as well."   
  
"Are you saying you think we can handle this? Because I don't think we can."   
  
The two continued to argue quietly in the corner as SG1, Hammond and the other two members of the team watched.   
  
"Are they always like this?" asked O'Neill to one of the guys who had introduced himself as Charles 'call me Tosh' Mackintosh.   
  
"Yep, married life eh?"   
  
There was silence for a moment as the SG team looked at each other and then at the couple in the corner.   
  
"They're married? But marriage within the military…" Carter's voice trailed off.   
  
"Yeah yeah we know all of that. But our situation is slightly different. You have to understand, Major, that we don't operate with normal Army rules. We can't, otherwise we'd never get our job done. A long life span is not one of the benefits that comes with this job, our superiors know that" he shrugged "It doesn't affect his or her judgment on the job and, if anything, it helps."   
  
Riley Finn and his now named wife, Sam, returned the table. The expression on her face said it all - she was angry with him and not at all happy with what he was about to do.   
  
"There are some people who are experts in this field, they've been dealing with this longer than we have and are highly experienced in fighting vamps. With your permission General, I'd like to contact them and see if they'd be amenable to helping us."   
  
"Are they military cleared?" General Hammond asked.   
  
Riley Finn shook his head "They're not but they are completely reliable and will keep this entire situation confidential. They've had to keep a lot of secrets over the years. This one is just one more."   
  
"Is it by any chance the Slayer you'll be talking to?" Carter asked suddenly, working on a hunch. The hunch paid off as Riley Finn stared at her, an expression of caution spreading over his face.   
  
"How do you know about the Slayer?" he asked.   
  
"I've done some research on the subject and the word kept cropping up. Something about there being one in each generation?"   
  
Carter kept going as she had obviously hit on something here but she could tell Riley Finn was not happy talking about it. Samantha Finn sighed.   
  
"It is the Slayer we'd be contacting. Her name is Buffy Summers, she's one of the current Slayers. She lives in Sunnydale, California. Sunnydale is Boca De Inferno, the Hellmouth - a spot which attracts all evil, vampires, demons, you name it - it turns up there. There's a team of young people who work with her, her Watcher and some friends of hers. There is also another group in Los Angeles." SG1 looked at her dumbly as she revealed this information. When she finished O'Neill put his hand up cautiously.   
  
"I have a question." Sam looked back at him with enquiring eyes.   
  
"You're married?" he asked.   
  
"Yes" she said.   
  
"Hell of honeymoon you must have had."   
  
"It was spent in Paraguay killing vampires. It was fun."   
  
O'Neill eyed her with respect "You have a bizarre idea of fun."   
  
She grinned at him, a totally friendly, completely charming open smile and the little voice in his head said 'she's married to Action Man'? Some women get all the luck'.   
  
"You said this girl, Buffy Summers, is one of the active Slayers. But the legend that I've been researching said that only one is born in each generation. But you imply that there's more than one active Slayer at the moment." Carter had listened closely to Sam's brief history of the Slayers and this was one of the things that had stood out. The other thing had been the respect that was in her voice when she spoke of her.   
  
Samantha Finn took her gaze off O'Neill and nodded at Carter.   
  
"That's right. The rule is that a Slayer has to die before another Slayer can be activated. We don't know if its how they pass on their powers or how they are called or really how it works. Some time ago Buffy was involved in a fight with a powerful vampire called The Master. She was dead for a few moments before being revived by one of her friends and then went on to successfully defeat the Master."   
  
Riley Finn interrupted "She dropped him through a roof skylight straight on to a stake." O'Neill noticed the pride in his voice as he spoke. There was something else going on here but he couldn't quite figure out what. Samantha Finn continued with her story.   
  
"The next Slayer to be called was Kendra. She turned up in Sunnydale, giving both Buffy and her watcher, Rupert Giles, quite a shock. I don't think the whole "Slayer death thing" had really hit home until that moment. During a fight Kendra was killed."   
  
"Buffy always blamed herself for that" said Riles softly, under his breath.   
  
"After Kendra came Faith. She is, technically speaking, the current active Slayer but I believe she's currently in a women's prison just outside of Los Angeles serving her sentence for manslaughter."   
  
"She killed a human?" Carter asked incredulously.   
  
"It's a long and very complicated story. But its all background you'll need to know if we're going to bring the Slayers in on this. Faith is getting herself back together and we've had good reports on her." Sam sipped her water from the glass in front of her, giving SG1 and Hammond time to digest everything she had said.   
  
"I think we'll take a break here people. Reconvene in about an hour with ideas and solutions. I like the idea of bringing in these experts you mentioned. Can we contact them?" Hammond was back in control again, his quick mind sifting through options.   
  
"I can contact the Sunnydale group now if you like. We can bring in LA and Faith if we need to but the Sunnydale group are the best hope." Riley answered.   
  
"Do that please. I'll see you all back here in an hour." 


	3. Joining Forces

Buffy replaced the receiver and turned to Giles who was watching her silently.   
  
She knew she could say anything to him and he would still accept her, still love her for the person she was. Hell, she'd already blurted out her most hidden secret. She'd been sleeping with Spike. He had laughed, hysterically and disbelievingly at first but they had ended up laughing themselves senseless about it. He viewed her with the eyes of a father, always had done. She trusted beyond anything to do the right thing and to give her the best advice - his actions over the entire time she had known him had proved that. Even the test she had taken at the age of 18 where at the time it had seemed an agonising betrayal, even that had faded and now her faith in this man was immoveable.   
  
"That was Riley" Giles' eyebrows raised a fraction in question "He and Sam have been called in on a project, a secret project, and they need our help."   
  
"A military project?" he asked quietly.   
  
"Yes" Buffy paced for a moment before looking at him "He's asked that we all go and help. You, me, Willow, Anya, Xander, Dawn and Spike. He says he needs all of us."   
  
"And we're going?"   
  
Buffy sat herself down on the couch and he lowered himself to join her, knowing how it was for her to face this problem but knowing her well enough to let her work through it until she came up with her own solution, her own decision.   
  
"Well, I trust Riley. He'd never do anything to put me in danger that I couldn't handle. And since he's asked for all of us I think it's all above board. Or as above board as it can be with the military involved."   
  
"You'd have to ask them all. It's their decision" Giles took off his   
  
glasses and cleaned them absentmindedly "But I will accompany you and provide as much help as I can."   
  
"It must be something serious if he's asking for all of us." Buffy   
  
glanced at the picture on the mantelpiece of the gang, it had been taken before they had taken on Adam and Riley sat, central, with Dawn on his lap and Buffy next to him hanging on to Xander who had his other arm round Anya. Willow, Tara and Giles took up the rest of the picture on the other side of Riley, Willow looking adoringly at Tara who was smiling up at Giles." He said it was important and that it was urgent. He's left a number for me to call him on with our decision."   
  
"I'll call everyone over now then" decided Giles, heading for the   
  
phone.   
  
The briefing reconvened exactly one hour later. General Hammond turned first to Riley Finn, asking him if he had managed to contact the Slayer." Yes General I have. I've requested the assistance of the entire group. They're going to discuss it and I've left a contact number for her to let me know."   
  
"How long exactly is it going to take for these people to decide to help us?" O'Neill questioned dubiously "I'm not sure I'm on with the idea of allowing a bunch of civilians on to the base."   
  
"Would you prefer to travel to California and meet them there?" Riley asked.   
  
"Never really got the hang of California - all those beach babes, surfboards and that 'valley talk'." O'Neill visibly shuddered.   
  
"In that case you're going to get a bit of shock when you meet the   
  
Slayer."   
  
Riley laughed "She doesn't look very threatening but she could tip you on your ass before you get the chance to draw that gun you carry."   
  
"I'd like to see her try" said O'Neill affronted "How old is this girl   
  
anyway?"   
  
"She's 21. And she's the oldest Slayer in history."   
  
O'Neill noted that tone of pride in Riley Finn's voice and saw the   
  
flash of awe across Sam Finn's face. There was definitely something else going on here. And he was going to find out what the hell it was before they went jumping through the Stargate with a bunch of vampire experts or whatever the hell they were.   
  
"I have a question" Riley looked at O'Neill. "You speak as though you know the Slayer very well. How did you meet her?"   
  
"I was stationed in Sunnydale. We ran into each other while I was   
  
located there with my unit. She aided us on several occasions." Riley Finn's voice was expressionless as he said this quickly.   
  
"Oh please" Sam Finn laughed "You may as well tell them, they're going to find out anyway." She turned to the SG1 team "He dated her."   
  
O'Neill and Carter turned their eyes back to Riley who avoided their gaze. Daniel Jackson, who until this point had remained an observer, was genuinely shocked.   
  
"You dated her? Like romantically?"   
  
"Yep"   
  
"Wow, you're one hell of a popular guy" O'Neill murmured before Carter elbowed him hard in the ribs.   
  
"It's OK. She's a great girl, we've met before." Sam tried to allay their fears "And she's very focused, right?" She now elbowed Riley Finn in the ribs who nodded and played with his pencil.   
  
"You dated the Slayer? When were you planning on telling us this?"   
  
O'Neill asked.   
  
"I didn't think it was important." Riley hedged.   
  
"Bullshit. Is there any other history you need to take us through before we meet these people?" O'Neill was getting angry now.   
  
This had explained Sam Finn's reaction. She wasn't jealous of the Slayer, because, lets face it, the Slayer would have to be one hell of a woman to beat this girl. She respected and admired this Buffy Summers but was comfortable with calling her in on this project but she still hadn't wanted to because she thought Buffy had enough to deal with without having to worry about a planet full of vampires.   
  
Riley Finn thought about O'Neill's question. Any other history? Jesus, where was he supposed to start?   
  
"If you need to know anything you can ask her. But I can assure you, you couldn't have a better person covering your back." Sam answered for him. O'Neill gave Carter a sideways glance, meeting her gaze and gave her a quick smile. Nope, there was only one person he trusted covering his back, not that anyone at SGC would ever know it apart from her.   
  
Buffy paced the room and looked at her friends who were staring at her. She looked at her sister who was looking straight back at her, expecting to be left behind again.   
  
"You too Dawn. He asked for you too." She caught the flare of surprise in Dawn's eyes but it was quickly covered up and Dawn simply nodded.   
  
"I'm in" she said.   
  
"Me too" Xander said, not even having to think about it.   
  
Anya and Willow sat side by side on the sofa with Spike draped across the arm of the sofa. Buffy turned to them.   
  
"What about you guys?"   
  
"What's their attitude to demons?" Anya asked cautiously.   
  
"Anya, it's Riley. He knows you. He wouldn't put you in danger."   
  
"Then I'm in."   
  
"Will?"   
  
Willow looked up, fear evident in her eyes but she nodded bravely and bit her lip.   
  
"If Giles thinks I can handle it then I'll come."   
  
"You'll be fine Willow. We're all here for you." Giles stretched his hand out and she moved across to him, clasping his hand and sinking on to the floor next to his chair, gaining strength from him.   
  
"Spike?" Buffy turned to him.   
  
"You know me. Always the helpful sort. Besides, you're all bound to   
  
get into trouble and need rescuing at some point."   
  
His forced humour was obvious but everyone laughed. Unlife had been very hard for Spike since his return to Sunnydale. The presence of his soul was painful, often tortuous and they had all seen him at his lowest ebb, trying to fight off the insanity that had ensued. Even Xander had dropped his dirty spiteful comments and instead watched in silence as Spike learned to deal with all the evil that he had wrought in his life. It was, perhaps, too much to say they had become friends but maybe colleagues would be a more appropriate word.   
  
A mobile phone pealed in Riley Finn's pocket and he answered it,   
  
flicking it open and simply saying "Finn".   
  
"Yes…..yes….all of you? Thank you. We can send transport for you. I   
  
don't know how long it will take……As soon as possible if that's OK with you. OK……We'll see you soon….. Yes she is…..Yes I'll tell her."   
  
Riley Finn clicked the phone shut and turned to Sam. "Buffy says hi."   
  
And then he turned to the rest of the meeting room.   
  
"They're in." 


	4. The Briefing

Riley stood outside the Cheyenne Mountain complex waiting for the Sunnydale gang to arrive. There were two tiny dots in the clear blue sky, coming closer - there they were. He wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to be handling this. Sam seemed quite at ease with the coming presence of his ex-girlfriend but he felt discomforted. Too much had changed since he had left Sunnydale and now he did not fit into the tightly knit group, if, in fact, he ever had done. Out of all of them the one he most understood was Xander. Riley had a great deal of respect for him. It took a lot to deal with the fact that your friend, your tiny blonde female friend could beat the living hell out of you and not even chip a nail doing it. Riley remembered being that powerful and sometimes he missed it. That was when he could keep up with Buffy, she never used to worry about him, he could fight alongside her and she wouldn't have one her on her own fight and one eye on him. That had been partly what had precipitated his departure from Sunnydale. His need to have someone rely on him, to be useful to someone and since Buffy had pretty much been single-handedly keeping the Hellmouth in order, he went somewhere he could do some good.   
  
By now the two dots had materialised into two helicopters coming into land, sending vast clouds of dust up and stirring the trees into a frenzy. He could see Dawn's face pressed against the window of the helicopter, the smile on her face evident. The blades of the helicopters slowed as he moved forward to open the doors and let out the passengers. Xander, Anya, Giles and Willow jumped out of one helicopter and Buffy and Dawn climbed out of the other one. Buffy reached in and pulled out a blanket, holding it up for the last passenger to climb out. Riley's face darkened. He had not expected the presence of Spike. He noticed how tenderly Buffy treated him and how gently Dawn pulled a second blanket over him to make sure there was no chance of him burning up. He was about to speak when Xander touched his arm and whispered something in his ear. Riley turned to stare at him, his blue eyes incredulous and Xander met his astonished gaze levelly before moving past him to hug Dawn who was still jumping up and down with excitement from her journey in the helicopter.   
  
Riley shook hands with Giles and Xander and accepted hugs from all of the girls. Willow seemed so much more tiny and fragile to him and he made a mental note to ask Buffy what was happening with her and why there was no sign of Tara. He did not grace Spike with a look but instead gestured to the group to follow him away from the helipad and down into the complex.   
  
Sam was waiting for them in one of the briefing rooms and she smiled shyly at the entire group, accepting a hug from Dawn. She saw the tall pale figure of Spike enter the room and her eyes widened before Riley closed the door behind him.   
  
"Before we get going on this project there's some stuff that you need to know. First of all and most importantly, this base, the personnel you meet and anything you may encounter is strictly confidential. I know I don't need to explain the meaning of top secret to you guys but this is pretty much on par with the work you do so you'll be asked to sign documents stating that you won't divulge any information on what goes on at this base." Riley gestured to the chairs.   
  
"Sit down everyone."   
  
Sam took over from there and slowly and concisely explained what the situation was. Used to all manner of strange situations there were no questions, the Scoobies listening in silence to Sam as she explained about the Stargate, the wormhole, the Gou'ld and the base generally.   
  
"The SG team that you'll be working with is the original SG team that started off going through the Stargate. They are very experienced, very well versed in fighting, tactics and dealing with different cultures."   
  
Dawn sat with her mouth slightly open, trying to get all this through her mind. Wow, how cool was this? Aliens really did exist although admittedly they were evil snake things that possessed the body but life on other worlds? And spaceships and ray guns. She bounced in her seat and then sat still at a look from Giles.   
  
"Before I introduce you to SG1, is there anything you need to tell us?" Riley asked.   
  
The Scooby Gang shifted in their seats and looked at each other before looking at Willow and then at Spike. Buffy eventually stood up and moved across to Willow to take her hand. Riley and Sam settled themselves at the table as Buffy started talking. She related what had happened since they had last met, Willow looking down at her hands the entire time. When Buffy came to the subject of Tara, Willow looked up and locked eyes with Riley. He saw the aching pain in her eyes and remembered how broken up she had been when Oz had left her, grieving to the point where she had stepped into the road and had nearly been killed by a car had he not pulled her out of the way. How much more in pain was she in now that Tara was dead? He knew that she had adored Tara. He decided at the first opportunity to speak to her, express his condolences. He had always been fond of the redhead and couldn't bear to see her in pain.   
  
Buffy skirted the issue of Willow turning to dark magic, simply saying that she had taken Tara's death very badly and Giles had taken her to England for a holiday. She could see that her friend did not want Riley and Sam to know how bad things had become for her. She turned to the subject of Spike, explaining about the trials and the return of his soul. Spike looked up only once meeting Riley's gaze, his bright blue eyes expressionless, before looking away again. Riley still did not trust him but Buffy seemed to so he decided not to say anything about it.   
  
"How was the wedding?" asked Riley trying to take refuge in a safe subject but realised that he had put his foot squarely in his mouth as his brain suddenly noted that Xander and Anya were seated either side of the table, had not touched each other or kissed each other at all. Very unusual.   
  
"The wedding didn't happen but Anya got her old job back" Xander said in his sarcastic happy voice which meant that he was hurting but was trying to hide it.   
  
"You got your old job back?" Sam didn't understand.   
  
"I'm back in the vengeance gig again" Anya said flatly "Don't look at me like that" she glared at Riley who was staring at her in surprise   
  
"You have no idea what it was like so you better start being nice to your wife otherwise you might find yourself a giant worm or something."   
  
"Now there's a thought" grinned Sam who then laughed as Riley transferred his glare to her.   
  
"Is that everything?" asked Riley. Everyone nodded although Willow did not make eye contact with him or anyone else and neither did Giles.   
  
"Follow me, I'll introduce you to SG1 and we can get started."   
  
They followed Riley and Sam deeper into the complex, lots of military uniforms everywhere, people in white coats, people with guns. Riley stopped outside a door which looked identical to all of the other doors they had passed and he knocked before entering. He gestured the others inside and they followed him in, Sam closing the door behind them.   
  
Dawn slid her hand into Buffy's who squeezed back reassuringly and gave her a brief smile. Buffy took a seat in the centre of the table opposite a woman in her early thirties. She had cropped blonde hair, pretty features and intelligent blue eyes. Dawn sat down beside her with Giles next to her. Giles glanced up the table and caught the eye of the man who was sitting quietly at the head of the table. He was dressed in blue, portly with a face which looked as if it could be kind. He nodded to him before taking his seat. Willow sat herself down at the other end of the table within reach of Giles and found herself next to a man who looked at her curiously. He had a mop of tawny brown hair and deep blue eyes. Spike, Xander and Anya took seats on the other side of Buffy, opposite two other men, one well built with shining dark skin and a strange symbol on his forehead. Anya regarded him curiously and his gaze back was no less curious. The man opposite Xander had a slight smile on his face, grey hair and deep brown eyes. He looked as though he had taken a good look at life and seen the joke. Xander liked him immediately.   
  
"SG1, I'd like to introduce you to the Slayer and her associates." Riley was aware of how formal he sounded but continued anyway. He pointed first to Anya, making his way down the table.   
  
"This is Anyanka. She's a powerful vengeance demon having seen most of the last 1,000 years of history."   
  
"Anya and less of the old" said Anya ignoring the raised eyebrows from the man opposite.   
  
"You are a demon?" he asked in a deep voice "But you are human. I cannot sense anything from you."   
  
"Vengeance demon. I represent scorned women. They make a wish and I grant it."   
  
"I trust you won't wreak havoc on my base" General Hammond said trying to keep the introductions light. He needed these people to get on and hoped that they would do. Anya turned a charming smile on him.   
  
"I promise to behave."   
  
"Next we have Xander Harris. Xander has wide experience in the field over the last 6 years fighting a multitude of demons." Dawn longed to add "and getting into trouble" but held her tongue.   
  
O'Neill gave Xander an appraising look and liked what he saw. A tall well built boy-man with a wide smile and laughing eyes. He could get on well with this guy. Xander nodded to him returning the smile.   
  
"This is Spike. He's a ..."   
  
"I'm a vampire OK?" Spike finished his sentence off. O'Neill, Teal'c and Carter had their weapons out in seconds, all pointing them straight at Spike's head. "And you pointing your weapons there isn't going to do anything. I can't harm you so you don't need to worry ok?"   
  
"You're a vampire?" repeated O'Neill, stunned. SG1 all caught their breath as Spike slid into his game face, his handsome features distorted by the demon and then he shook his head, the ugly visage slipping away again, gold eyes turning back to pale blue.   
  
"It's complicated but thanks to your boy here I'm currently defanged."   
  
"De-fanged?" O'Neill repeated - Jesus, he thought, I sound like an echo.   
  
"The base where I was stationed managed to capture Spike and we inserted a chip in his head which activates if he attempts to harm a human." Riley explained tersely.   
  
"Very useful" said Spike, playing with his lighter, aware of the entire room's eyes upon him "I can still fight the big nasties when I have to but can't bite anyone."   
  
"You bite people?" Teal'c asked in horror.   
  
"Nope, not any more." Spike gave Riley a belligerent hateful look, Riley carried on, ignoring the hate glare from Spike.   
  
"Moving on, this is Buffy Summers, she's one of the current active Slayers. She's the oldest Slayer to date."   
  
"Oh you just had to mention that" said Buffy rolling her eyes "God, you know how to make a girl feel good."   
  
The tension in the room was broken as O'Neill tried and failed to smother a laugh and Buffy continued the introductions.   
  
"This is my sister Dawn, my Watcher, Rupert Giles. Anything you need to know about the occult or supernatural - he's your guy. Next to Giles is Willow Rosenberg. She's a skilled .. computer gal." Buffy had caught the slight shake of Willow's head. She did not want these people to know her special skills. Not yet anyway.   
  
O'Neill had caught the movement from Willow and knew instantly that Buffy was covering something up but she met his eyes and he knew that whatever it was, she would explain later.   
  
"We've been together for 6 years now. We've averted at least 4 apocalypses. If you need to know anything just ask." Buffy leaned back in her chair and observed the people on the other side of the table.   
  
General Hammond introduced the SG1 team briefly.   
  
"I'm assuming Agent Finn has explained the situation to you. Teal'c carries a larvae Gou'ld in him."   
  
"You've got a snake thing in you?" asked Dawn before she could stop herself. O'Neill, successfully this time, smothered his laugh but Carter and Daniel Jackson smiled at the girl's description of a Gou'ld, so similar to their Colonel's.   
  
Teal'c inclined his head and bestowed a smile on the girl. "I have."   
  
"Doesn't it, like, hurt?"   
  
"It is part of me as your heart and lungs are part of you."   
  
Dawn looked at Teal'c's chest in fascination.   
  
"This is Colonel Jack O'Neill, he is in command of SG1" O'Neill nodded "Major Samantha Carter who specialises in astrophysics, science and technology, and Dr Daniel Jackson, expert linguist and archaeologist."   
  
Willow and Giles regarded Carter and Daniel Jackson with new eyes, seeing people they could understand and relate to.   
  
Buffy picked up the briefing from the introductions by getting to the point quickly.   
  
"OK, Riley hasn't really told us much other than what seem to be the basics on the Stargate, your journeys off world and who the bad guys are which are basically these Gou'ld things. None of this explains why you need us. Unless you've come across a planet populated with vampires." The entire Scooby Gang laughed, even Spike, but SG1 did not.   
  
"How did you guess?" asked O'Neill sarcastically. 


	5. Plan Of Action

"An entire planet?" Xander repeated for what had to be the tenth time.   
  
Jack O'Neill gazed around the room, trying to gauge the effect that his words had had. Anya had a thoughtful look on her face. She wasn't having trouble getting her mind around this fact but since she was demon anyway he assumed that this kind of thing was par for the course for her. Xander who sat beside her looked slightly stunned. Spike, a vampire, did not look particularly ecstatic at having an entire planet of his kin to deal with. O'Neill made a mental note to speak to Buffy about the vampire later on. He needed to get a few things sorted out in his mind about this group of people and he guessed that she was the best place to start. Buffy, used to dealing with apocalypses, had been initially floored but was now fiddling, twitching. He recognised the signs as someone who wanted to get moving on this mission, rather than sit around and talk. That suited him. That made them similar. He was still unsure about the petite blonde and resolved to find out exactly what the Slayer powers were. Dawn and Giles looked less than happy at the thought of an entire planet policed by vampires and the girl down the end of the table, Willow was it? She had not said a word, not met anyone's eye except when she had been introduced. He saw the fear cross her face before being replaced by a mask of indifference. Oh yes, there was a lot more going on in this group than first thought and he wanted to get all this straight in his head before he put his life and the lives of his team into their hands.   
  
"So, now you know." General Hammond had run through the situation after O'Neill had blurted out the problem.   
  
"So you want us to what? Clear the entire planet of the vamps, kill this guy Ahmose and set the people free? What are we?   
  
Supernatural pest control?" Spike asked.   
  
"That's pretty much it." Dr Jackson admitted. "There are other options of course. We could relocate the prisoners to another planet, we do have several habitable planets which are reachable through the Stargate. We could destroy the vampires and leave the human inhabitants free and pray that Ahmose doesn't notice his guards are dead or…"   
  
"Or we can give these guys a crash course in vamp protection and head back to Sunnydale." Spike finished. He turned to Buffy "This isn't part of the deal of being a Slayer, love. You don't have to do this. The deal is for this planet not the entire fucking universe."   
  
He seemed unreasonably angry but then O'Neill and the rest of SG1 weren't to know how protective he was of her. She turned to him and laid a hand over his.   
  
"It's fine Spike. We're only talking about it. I doubt they're planning on sending us through this gate thing with a bunch of stakes and nothing else."   
  
"Of course not" General Hammond interrupted "We are looking for a long term solution to this problem with the least casualties all round. Agent Finn suggested you would be able to help us as you are all experienced in this area. There is no question of you going through the gate without any kind of backup or support."   
  
This seemed to mollify the vampire a little and he subsided, slouching back into his chair. Buffy gave his hand a final pat and then turned to Rupert Giles.   
  
"Giles, any ideas?"   
  
The older man stood up and started pacing around the room. He slid his glasses off and, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, began polishing them idly as he turned the facts over in his mind. SG1 watched him curiously but the Sunnydale gang had already moved together, Willow scooting up next to Dawn.   
  
"I think the first thing we need to discover is if these vampires are different to vampires on this planet. We need to know if they react the same to sunlight, fire and stakes. Holy symbols are a tried and tested way to ward off vampires on this planet but they may be ineffective against these vampires."   
  
"I could take the team and bag some for experimental purposes. Vamps are pretty much disposable." Riley looked over at Spike who was doodling mindlessly on the pad in front of him. Spike ignored the slight and carried on doodling.   
  
"That sounds like an excellent idea." General Hammond said "SG1, if you would like to take Agent Finn and his team to the planet, recover some vampires and bring them back. We can hold them here securely and discover how strong they are and what their weaknesses are before we take on an entire planet of them."   
  
"Sir, isn't that a little cruel?" Dr Jackson spoke for the first time "We can't hold these things here like that, experimenting on them."   
  
"Why not?" asked Buffy "They're not human. They're not alive at all. Some nights I kill up to forty of them, and that's just me, not counting everyone else in this room. You have to understand, Dr Jackson, exactly what you're up against."   
  
She saw Carter's eyes move to Spike to glanced up and met the bright blue of Spike's gaze.   
  
"Don't look at me. I'm not a good example." He returned back to his doodling.   
  
"What are we up against?" Carter asked "The Earth vampires? What are they like?"   
  
"I could arrange a demonstration." Riley offered "SG1 have limited experience of the other vampires so they should be able to make a comparison. After that we can go back to the planet and take a couple of vampires, check their strengths and weaknesses and take it from there. We can't fight these things effectively if we don't know how to fight them."   
  
"That's the best idea." O'Neill offered "There's no real time frame on this project is there Sir?" he asked Hammond who shook his head.   
  
"Other than the fact that innocents are dying on that planet Colonel, no."   
  
"Innocents die on this planet every day General" said Giles quietly.   
  
There was silence for a moment before the General spoke.   
  
"OK, we'll have this demonstration first. Agent Finn if you could please recover some subjects for the demonstration. After which SG1 and your team will go through the Stargate and retrieve some vampires from the other planet."   
  
Riley nodded.   
  
"I suggest we split up into groups so we can handle this better. Dr Jackson, if you can deal with the cultural side of things, Major Carter, any technology which may be of assistance and Colonel, if you and Teal'c can come up with some ideas as to how we are going to handle this problem." General Hammond glanced across at Giles who nodded at him and turned to his group.   
  
"Willow and Dawn, you can work with Major Carter, Anya and I will work with Dr Jackson and Buffy? You, Spike and Xander will work with the Colonel and Teal'c." Giles looked at Buffy for approval and she nodded slightly.   
  
"Right then people, let's get moving. Dismissed." 


	6. Opportunity to Talk

General Hammond watched Riley Finn's team bring in a struggling vampire in full game face, snarling at everyone. The turn of events had thrown him as much as anyone else but he had not got to where he was by being hysterical when things got unusual. He had sat down and thought about this problem logically and practically. Vampires? Imagine what else existed out there. And here he was running teams that made contact with other worlds when he didn't even know what this world contained. A quote flashed through his head "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio" but he couldn't place who said it. He turned his attention to the room below him.   
  
He, Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c and Spike were in the observation booth. Buffy was in the centre of the secure room watching as Riley brought in a vampire who was obviously suffering badly from blood lust.   
  
"When did he last feed?" she asked as Riley tied him down to a chair. The vampire sat quietly, simmering with rage, waiting for his moment to strike.   
  
"Early last night."   
  
"Great thanks." Buffy eyed the vampire who was watching her through slitted eyes. She wondered what he saw, how he saw her. Did he see the Slayer, a strong young woman who could beat him easily? Did he see the tired person that she was, tired of all this responsibility and all the fighting. She pulled off her jumper and warmed up some of her muscles, leaning her head either side, stretching her arms out and jumping up and down to get the blood pumping   
  
Riley stepped away from the vampire and moved towards the door.   
  
"You OK with this?" he asked suddenly. She seemed smaller, more delicate than ever and he longed to know what had changed her from the sharp talking, quick witted girl he had once loved to this lonely quiet woman.   
  
"Oh please, I do this every night. Get your butt out of here Action Man." She threw her top at him and he laughed, and closed the door, locking her in with the vampire.   
  
O'Neill stifled a laugh as he heard Buffy answer him. He was looking forward to this. He wanted to see what this girl could do, what she was capable of. Buffy moved behind the vampire and pulled his bonds loose. The vampire stood slowly, watching her like a cat.   
  
"The deal is this. You catch me, you get me. OK?" she asked. The vampire grinned evilly.   
  
"You don't stand a chance little girl. Who do you think you are? The   
  
Slayer?"   
  
He rushed her and Buffy, prepared for this, simply moved out the way, allowing the vamp to run himself into the concrete wall. He turned and growled at her and she moved towards him moving easily into the fight, completely unafraid, cool and calculating, knowing how he was going to move and already sliding under his guard. She punched him hard, sending him staggering back until he hit the wall and then slid down. He blinked at her dazedly.   
  
"Something like that" she said and knelt over him, plunging a stake into his heart. He exploded into motes of dust and Buffy sat back on her heels, glancing up at the observation booth. Spike looked proudly at the others who stood in stunned silence. Buffy stood herself up, brushing the dust from her top.   
  
"That's how it's done Colonel. Want to try?"   
  
An hour later, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c sat in the infirmary looking dejected. O'Neill had an ice pack to the side of his face and was wincing in pain as Dr Fraiser prodded his bruised leg. Teal'c's left eye was swollen up and he had slash marks across his neck. They both looked sorry for themselves. They had not expected to be beaten quite so easily. O'Neill saw Buffy come in through the door and hesitate before joining them.   
  
"Are you OK?" she asked.   
  
"Fine and dandy thanks for asking." O'Neill growled back at her. She frowned at him.   
  
"Hey, don't you get mad at me. It's not my fault they don't teach you to fight properly."   
  
"Why you little…" O'Neill would have been quite happy to wrap his fingers round her neck. Teal'c interrupted him, not wanting the Colonel's to get the better of him.   
  
"I think his pride is more bruised than anything else, Buffy. But I thank you for your timely intervention" Teal'c smiled at O'Neill who subsided grumpily.   
  
"How do they compare to the vampires you fought on the other planet?" Buffy asked, all business again.   
  
"The creatures we fought before possessed similar speed and strength" said Teal'c, tipping his head to allow Dr Fraiser to check his eye out.   
  
"Well, that's good. At least we know what we're dealing with.  
  
No offence guys but how did you beat them before?" asked Buffy curiously "Cos you didn't get your asses kicked on that planet did you?"   
  
"No we didn't" Teal'c said slowly "We used our zat guns and I used my staff weapon"   
  
"No wood or fire involved anywhere?" asked Buffy.   
  
"The weapons discharge a small but intense burst of energy. I suppose it could be termed as fire." Teal'c was trying to follow Buffy on her train of thought. Buffy screwed her face up in thought but she kept hitting a wall. And it was a big wall. How did you exterminate a planet full of vampires?   
  
"Listen, I'm going to get on back to Spike and Xander. They can't stand each other, god knows what they've done to each other by now." Buffy grinned at Teal'c who was having his wound cleaned by a pretty nurse.   
  
"I'm gonna tag along with her" said O'Neill nodding at Teal'c who inclined his head in return.   
  
O'Neill and Buffy wandered companiably through the complex in silence until O'Neill's stomach gave a sudden and unexpected rumble. Buffy smiled at him.   
  
"Are you hungry?" he asked "Do you think the others can refrain from killing each other while we grab some food?"   
  
"Sure. I'm starved."   
  
O'Neill headed off down a different corridor and they soon reached the canteen. Buffy gave the food a distrusting look before heaping her plate full of pasta. O'Neill followed her example, guessing that she was giving him the opportunity to ask her anything he needed to know about the group before they got serious with this task.   
  
She picked a table in the corner, two walls at her back and in plain sight of the door. O'Neill settled himself opposite her and tucked in.   
  
"Tell me about Willow" he invited, never being one to beat around the bush.   
  
"She's had a rough time recently. She's still recuperating. Her girlfriend got killed in an accident and she hasn't really got over it."   
  
"But that's not all is it?" Buffy carried on eating but gave him a quick assessing look.   
  
"What do you mean? There's nothing else to Willow. She's smart, clever, she can read in about 8 different languages, she's got a thing about frogs and she's gay. What else is there to know?"   
  
"I want to know what you're protecting her from. I saw the look she gave you in the briefing room." O'Neill was now sure there was something Buffy wasn't telling him. "I need to know if there is something wrong. I need to know I can trust them."   
  
Buffy put her fork down and glanced around the canteen. It was empty apart from them. She leaned forward and began to talk in a low voice.   
  
"It was about a year ago, we came against this thing, she was a god called Glory. She performed a ritual which broke down all the barriers between all the dimensions. All the barriers, and most dimensions don't like humans if you know what I mean. There was only one way to close it, to jump into the hole she had made. So I did it and it killed me."   
  
O'Neill gestured for her to continue, uncharacteristically remaining silent.   
  
"I was somewhere safe, somewhere peaceful. And it was Willow who brought me back. She thought, they all did, she thought I was in a hell dimension and thought she was saving me. She did some pretty intense magic, really dark magic. Giles was so mad at her."   
  
"For bringing you back?"   
  
"Not so much for that. For putting herself in so much danger. She didn't understand. None of us did, not really. Anyway, things went from bad to worse. I was having trouble adjusting to being alive and looking after Dawn. I didn't really notice how she was slipping away from us. Tara did though. Tara was a Wicca too, powerful in her own way but nothing in comparison to Willow. She was still wonderful though. She was so forgiving and so wise about everything." O'Neill saw the tears glimmer in Buffy's eyes. "I miss her."   
  
"So what happened?" he asked, fascinated by the story.   
  
"Tara left Willow. Forced her to make a decision, to understand what she was doing. For a while it worked and Tara went back to Willow. The next morning there was an incident at the house, a guy I'd fought the night before and beaten came over all big and macho with a gun. He shot me, and he hit Tara as well. Willow was so angry. She went absolutely insane."   
  
"Death will do that to you" said O'Neill "Sometimes you do things you regret."   
  
Buffy looked up at him and saw the pain in his eyes. He gave her a quick understanding smile before gesturing for her to continue.   
  
"You have to understand, Colonel, that Willow is not a wild person by nature. When I first met her she was quiet, shy, you wouldn't look at her twice."   
  
"That's how it goes with those kind of people. They get a tiny taste of power, of being bad, and they can't stop."   
  
"That's pretty much what happened" admitted Buffy "except she didn't get a tiny taste. She got a mealful."   
  
"What happened?"   
  
"She tried to end the world." Buffy carried on eating but watched O'Neill try and get his head round that.   
  
"She can do that?" he asked eventually "like, poof and we're all history?"   
  
"Yep."   
  
"Wow. Remind me not to piss her off." O'Neill thought about the quiet young woman who looked like she wouldn't say boo to a goose.   
  
"There's a lot of stuff going on. Probably wise you don't even mention I've told you. I just thought you ought to know." Buffy finished her meal and leaned back in her chair, gazing at Colonel O'Neill with thoughtful eyes.   
  
"Is there anything else I need to know?" he asked.   
  
"It's all fairly straightforward. I'm the Slayer, Dawn's my sister, she was called the Key, it was through her that Glory broke down the barriers . Anya was going to get married to Xander until he stood her up at the altar. Now she's a vengeance demon again. Willow's a Wicca. Willow used to fancy Xander. Xander used to fancy me. I've just finished a relationship with Spike who, by the way, has spent the last 4 years trying to kill me. Giles is my Watcher."   
  
"And what about him?" Colonel O'Neill asked. Buffy seemed to have no juicy gossip on the tall Englishman.   
  
"Giles is Giles. He's Giles. He's pretty knowledgeable about stuff, he knows about magic, he trained me to fight." Buffy tried to frame a coherent sentence which would explain her Watcher.   
  
"Giles has a wild side to him. You don't want to see it." She grinned at O'Neill who had now finished his meal.   
  
"Sounds like a group ready for therapy" he said bluntly.   
  
"You have no idea" answered Buffy. "Listen I better get back. Xander and Spike have probably ripped each other apart by now."   
  
"Thanks for telling me all of that" O'Neill stood up and looked down at her "My team are relatively straightforward by comparison. There's no traumatic history between us." He didn't look at her as he said this and hoped that she didn't notice. He wasn't lying…just not being entirely truthful. There were undercurrents in his team - but they were all kept well under control. He thought of Carter for a moment before realising Buffy was talking to him.   
  
"Just as well - we have enough personality problems to cover the entire base" Buffy joked, following him out the door and heading back to the room where Spike and Xander were working. 


	7. Willow Slips Up

Carter talked and talked with Willow and Dawn sitting, slightly open mouthed, while she ran through the history of the Stargate, their team and their missions. She explained, in much more detail, the war with Gou'ld, the symbiotes, the Ja'ffa and the To'kra. Carter took the two girls around the gate room, the main computer room and finally back to her lab. Carter knew that the girls had absorbed every single word she had said even if they had not given the impression that they had. They had both asked equally intelligent questions, although Willow had shown far more knowledge about the computer systems and grasped the ideas behind the technology quicker than Dawn had. That was not surprising. Dawn was, after all, only 16 and yet she seemed infinitely older than that.   
  
"We've been able to incorporate some of the Gou'ld technology into our systems and we also use some of the weapons. Teal'c, for example, prefers using his staff." Carter handed Dawn a staff and she took it carefully in both hands feeling the weight and then giving a few cautious practice swishes through the air.   
  
"Hey, imagine Buffy with this" Dawn said to Willow who was ducking out of her way, laughing. Carter leaned back against the counter top and watched the two girls with a half smile on her face. They were kids. Nothing more than that and she could not believe that these two had seen the things Riley said they had.   
  
A badly timed swipe of the staff by Dawn had caught one of the monitors on a desk and had knocked it off. Before it hit the floor however, Willow stretched out her hand and moved it upwards. The monitor hung in mid-air for a moment before flipping back on to the desk top.   
  
There was silence in the room for a moment and Dawn, carefully, put the staff down and moved across to Willow, giving her a hug. Willow turned to look at Carter whose bright blue eyes had widened slightly in astonishment.   
  
"How did you do that?" she asked quietly.   
  
"Magic" replied Willow was looking guilty.   
  
Carter moved over to the monitor and ran her hands over it before looking back at Willow. The girl was, if it was possible, paler than before. Dawn stroked her arm and whispered something in Willow's ear. The redhead nodded and Dawn turned to Carter.   
  
"Where's Dr Jackson and Giles?"   
  
"Second door on your left" Carter replied, not taking her eyes from Willow. Dawn headed out of the room in search of Giles and Willow slumped into her seat.   
  
"How?" asked Carter. Willow glanced up at her and realised that her interest was purely scientific. Willow switched her mind on to academia and tried to put into words what, before had only been sensed, what had been felt.   
  
"I don't know how. It just is."   
  
Carter saw that she was shaking a little and poured her some water, which Willow gratefully took.   
  
"How did it start?" Carter somehow realised that it helped to question Willow, to bring her thoughts back to Earth and to concentrate on answering her. Willow was about to answer when the door opened and Dawn came in, followed by Giles and Dr Jackson. Giles came straight to Willow, taking her hand, feeling her pulse, looking in her eyes. He spoke quietly to her and she nodded and then shook her head violently as he asked her a question.   
  
"What's happening?" Daniel asked Carter.   
  
"Willow used magic. She's been trying not to use it but sometimes I think she can't help it and when she does, things get weird." Dawn answered the question without looking at either of the SG members   
  
"She gets a little cranky sometimes. Giles looks after her when she does."   
  
"She looks so guilty" Carter commented trying to get an answer out of Dawn about what was wrong with this girl. She had seen not seen natural power like this before and longed to find out the extent of the power she wielded. Willow could be a powerful ally but mentally she seemed a mess. She watched as Giles spoke softly to the redhead, watched as the girl visibly pulled herself together to the point where she was smiling a little at Giles.   
  
"Does she?" replied Dawn who was obviously hedging the question. Carter realised that the girl was protecting Willow and she wouldn't get any information out of her at this point. Instead, all business and practicality, Carter turned to Daniel.   
  
"How are you doing? Find anything yet?"   
  
Daniel's eyes visibly lit up and inwardly Carter groaned. This boded for a long discussion, she could almost hear O'Neill's voice in her head as Daniel starting speaking.   
  
"Giles and I have been through the basic history of vampires and demonology. It's amazing how this sort of thing has existed for millennia on this planet and here we are concerning ourselves with outer space. We haven't even begun to scratch the surface of what's here."   
  
"Trust me, you don't want to" Dawn spoke wryly, half listening to their conversation.   
  
"Anyway" Daniel continued "We're trying to find a match in history, how the vampires went from our planet to this new one."   
  
"Does this planet have a name?" asked Dawn "Apart from a number."   
  
"We don't usually name the planets, as a rule" Carter replied.   
  
"Rules are made to be broken. Lets call it something" Dawn insisted. Willow and Giles moved over to them.   
  
"We could call the planet Lamia" suggested Giles. Daniel nodded enthusiastically.   
  
"And in English?" Dawn asked "for those of us who don't speak geek."   
  
"In Latin it means vampire" said Willow softly.   
  
"Lamia it is then" Carter agreed. 


	8. Giles & Daniel Bond

Dr Jackson peered at Giles over the rapidly growing pile of books between them. They had returned to his office after Giles had checked on Willow. Anya had settled herself at Daniel's desk, her long legs tucked underneath her. She was deeply into a book and did not even look up when Giles and Daniel returned.   
  
Willow intrigued him. She was shaken after using her magic but seemed OK. Daniel's heart went out to her, she seemed so fragile and yet, from his brief whispered conversation with Carter, she was incredibly powerful. He longed to ask Giles about her but sensed that it was a sore subject with the Englishman. Giles had held Willow with obvious familiarity but it was paternal, there was no sign of a concerned lover. He longed to know what was going on - it was obvious there was undercurrents within the group. No doubt Jack had questioned the young blonde girl on this. Whether he had found anything out was another story.   
  
"Is there a problem?" Giles enquired, without looking up. Daniel almost blushed at being caught out. Giles glanced up and met his eyes. There was polite interest but also a guarded look in his eyes.   
  
"I was just wondering how you all ended up together. I mean, it's a group of such varied skills and people."   
  
Giles leaned back in his chair, took his glasses off and cleaned them. He looked down and caught himself in the act and gave a wry smile.   
  
"They always laugh when I do this. Clean my glasses I mean." He polished each lens carefully and then put them back on his nose, tucking the cloth back into his pocket.   
  
"When Buffy was called her original Watcher was a chap called Merrick. Nice enough bloke. A little intense I suppose but ideal for a Slayer. She was very young. Not just age wise, but maturity wise. I think her biggest problem at the time was what to wear at school each day. A bit of a shock to her as you can imagine when faced with all the demons of hell on a regular basis."   
  
Daniel nodded. "I can imagine."   
  
Giles stood up and began to pace restlessly as he spoke.   
  
"Merrick was killed and when we discovered that Buffy would be moving, I was sent to Sunnydale. I was employed by the local school as the librarian, a bit of difference from the British Museum but challenging nevertheless. Buffy, to be begin with, was flippant about her calling. She fought hard against all the traditions of the Slayer."   
  
"Traditions?"   
  
"Slayers, traditionally, are lone creatures. They do not have contact with family or friends. They train relentlessly, studying hard during the day to learn more about the creatures they fight and then they patrol at night, slaying. Their identity should be shrouded in secret, both for their safety and to give them a greater chance to survive. Buffy is one of the oldest although, unlike Riley says, she is not the oldest. The situation is a little clouded at the moment."   
  
Daniel nodded "Agent Finn has brought us up to date on the situation with the other two Slayers."   
  
Giles didn't show his surprise and carried on "Buffy has grown up immensely over the last few years and has also come up against some of the more terrifying foes. The Master was only the first. Spike of course, was a formidable foe until circumstances rendered him incapable of injuring a human. A vampire by the name of Angelus, Buffy's ex lover, turned upon her. She sent him to hell. She gained quite a reputation and the kudos for killing her rose rapidly. Various other enemies even Dracula attempted to kill her but somehow she always triumphed. Until last year."   
  
Daniel watched as the pain became evident on Giles' face. He wasn't sure how to ease this, how to make the telling of this story any easier.   
  
"A hell god named Glorificus, Glory, was aiming to open all the dimensions and return to her own hell dimension. Unfortunately for this she needed Dawn.   
  
"Little Dawn?" Daniel asked "What does she have to do with it? She's human isn't she?"   
  
"She is now. But at the time her blood would bring down all the barriers between the dimensions. The barriers would only go up again when the blood stopped flowing.   
  
"But, she's here now. And to my knowledge, there were no hell dimensions." Daniel couldn't quite grasp where Giles was going with this "You would have had to have killed her to for the blood to stop."   
  
"Or for someone of the same family. So Buffy jumped from the tower that Glory had built, straight into the dimensional rip. She died." His voice was flat and expressionless.   
  
"She died?" Daniel was incredulous.   
  
"The dimensional rip closed and all was right with the world again. At least as right as it could be."   
  
"But she's here. And so is Dawn."   
  
"Dr Jackson, you have to understand that there are forces at work in this world that you are not aware of, that you cannot possibly comprehend. The Stargate, all your wonderful technology, even the different races that you encounter - this is all scientific, practical. The forces we deal with are mystical, magical. And the people who wield these forces are the most unlikely people."   
  
"You're talking about Buffy?"   
  
"I'm talking about Willow."   
  
"Willow?"   
  
"It was Willow who brought Buffy back. That's what you were wondering about wasn't it?" Giles grinned at Daniel who gave a sheepish smile. "Willow is a very unusual young woman. When I first met her she was a shy, innocent child, sweet natured, generous, intelligent."   
  
"And now?"   
  
"Willow chose. This is something you have to understand. Out of the group of young people you have just met, the most remarkable of them all are Willow and Xander. They have fought alongside Buffy since she came to Sunnydale. They choose to do this every night. Initially I was concerned about this but they have proved themselves time and time again. But their involvement with Buffy has cost them dearly and personally. And out of everyone, I believe Willow has changed the most. The shy child that I first met at school blossomed into a powerful young woman. Her knowledge will rival mine one day, I thought perhaps she might train to be a Watcher some day, perhaps she still will. She is a very powerful witch, a Wicca. Her partner, Tara was accidentally shot and Willow, devastated by grief, went what can only be described as completely insane."   
  
"Insane?"   
  
"In your terms. She took her revenge on Warren, Tara's murderer and then opened herself up to the magic. But once the magic started flowing she couldn't stop it. And things…." Giles hesitated trying to put into words what had happened, what had scarred Willow so deeply "things got out of hand. Fortunately Xander and I managed to bring the situation back under control." Giles' thoughts dwelled for a moment on the sight of Willow beating the hell of out his Slayer, Willow's hand delving deeply into his chest and ripping all the magic out of him.   
  
"Once Willow regained her reason I took her back to England with me. We've trained her in the use of her magic, in the control of her mind and thoughts. She's still learning of course. And when the magic flows when she's not expecting it, it scares her a little."   
  
"And that was what happened just now?" Daniel asked. Giles nodded simply.   
  
"Unless Willow mentions any of this to you, please don't talk to her about it. She's still dealing with her grief at Tara's death and combined with the magic she has enough to worry about."   
  
"I won't say a word" Daniel promised and then something else occurred to him "Willow, did you say she was… well?   
  
"Gay? You mean Tara? I get the impression with Willow that the gender does not matter, it's the soul that counts."   
  
Something else occurred to Daniel.   
  
"You said that Willow was incredibly powerful. Exactly how powerful is she? You said things got out of hand."   
  
"I should not have allowed things to get so far." Giles now sounded angry with himself. "I dosed Willow with some incredibly strong magic, good magic. It gave Xander the chance to talk her down."   
  
"She was suicidal?"   
  
"Suicidal and intent on taking the rest of the world with her." Anya's voice sounded suddenly from the corner. She had put the book down ages ago and was sitting uncharacteristically quiet for her, listening to them. Giles and Daniel had forgotten she was there and both jumped at the sound of her voice.   
  
"She could do that?" Daniel whispered.  
  
"She almost did. The world will never know how close she came."   
  
"Fuck." 


	9. Friends and Enemies

Klaxons sounded for an off world activation and instantly all of SG1 dropped what they were doing and headed straight for the Gateroom. The gang from Sunnydale followed them curiously, Buffy easily keeping up with O'Neill's long stride. Dawn and Willow followed Sam up into the control room and stared amazed at the technology around her.   
  
The Stargate was spinning in his frame, smoke pouring from the sides and with a sudden whoosh, the event horizon formed in the centre of the ring and blew out into the room before dropping back and shimmering beautifully.  
  
"Sweet mother of Zeus" Xander breathed when he saw it. O'Neill turned and frowned a little when he saw that he had been followed. He motioned for Xander and Spike to hang back by the door and then noticed the rest of the Sunnydale gang crowding the entrance. Buffy stood next to him, no intention of moving anywhere.  
  
Two figures came through the rippling horizon and Carter let out an exclamation. Dawn and Willow followed her down into the gateroom and they watched curiously as Sam was embraced closely by one of the people who had come through the gate.  
  
"Hey Dad" she said, hugging him.  
  
"Hey Sam."   
  
She stepped back and smiled politely at her father's companion, a Tok'ra she had met before and secretly did not like. Anise smiled back at her but Sam knew that she was oblivious to Sam's coolness.   
  
"Hey Jacob. What are you doing here?" O'Neill was not even slightly casual and did not even bother to nod to Anise, someone whom he distrusted deeply.  
  
"General Hammond contacted me. He believed we might also be able to help in this matter. We've been aware of Ahmose for some time and we believe that your attempts to free the people of the planet you landed on, will coincide with our attempts to liberate his system."  
  
O'Neill pulled a face. "What?"  
  
"We can help you, Colonel," Anise said in her earnest helpful way. He shot her a look filled with dislike and turned back to Jacob Carter.   
  
"Well, we've also found some new friends," he gestured to the gang of young people standing behind him. "Trust me. You gotta hear this one."  
  
Jacob raised an eyebrow in query, a habit which Selmak had installed in all of her hosts but followed Jack up to General Hammond briefing room.   
  
Daniel glanced at Giles and made an executive decision to distract them while Jack and Carter dealt with the Tok'ra.  
  
  
  
"Who wants a quick tour of the base? We've organised some quarters for you while you're here. It's not the Hilton I'm afraid but it's not the slums either."  
  
"That would be great, Dr Jackson" Buffy's little sister gave him a cute smile and beckoned enthusiastically to the others to follow them. Buffy grinned. She knew a crush when she saw one and while Daniel was pretty cute, he wasn't her type. Not any more, she thought to herself.  
  
Buffy found herself walking next to Teal'c at the back of "tour" as Daniel showed them the commissary, where she had already been, the Infirmary, where she had already been and then to their quarters.   
  
"You are surprisingly strong for such a small woman BuffySummers," Teal'c said. "I am still surprised that you were able to beat the vampire so easily whereas I had great trouble."  
  
She shrugged. "It's a knack. Besides," she added charitably, "I've had more practice than you."  
  
He gifted her with a rare smile and she smiled back. She liked this man, so big and yet he seemed so gentle. She had known instinctively that she could trust him and the Colonel had given her the lowdown on Teal'c so she knew where he was coming from. He had done some bad things but was making up for them now. Not exactly a journey for redemption but close enough.  
  
Dawn's excited squeal caught her attention and she excused herself, pushing past Anya to stand next to her sister.  
  
"We've allocated quarters for you all but we weren't sure if you wanted to share."  
  
Buffy looked at Giles for help and he smoothly took over, organising everything.  
  
"Xander and Giles can share, Willow, you and Anya can share, Buffy can go with Dawn and I'll have a single ….."  
  
"Hmmm that's convenient" Anya said "Looking for some peace and quiet were you?"  
  
Giles didn't even bother to answer her question and turned to Daniel instead. "If that's OK?"  
  
"Sure" Daniel nodded. "Your stuff is topside still but I'll arrange for it to come down to your quarters." He glanced at his watch. "Why don't we track down the other team and get some food?"  
  
"That sounds great Dr Jackson" Dawn gushed. Buffy could barely hide the roll of her eyes.   
  
"Actually, you know what? I think I'll just hang here. I've already eaten."  
  
"Do you want me to bring you something?" Dawn asked but her sister shook her head.   
  
"Nope. You go eat."  
  
She watched her friends walk off down the corridor, Teal'c large frame bringing up the rear and entered the quarters that Daniel has shown her as hers and sat down on the bed. She bounced a little. Not too hard. Not too soft. Just right. Not like this whole military thing. She felt a little on edge put couldn't quite put her finger on why.  
  
The vibes coming from Teal'c were identifiable, it was that snake thing that was setting off her Slayer sense. Willow's power was also a tangible sensation. But there was also something else. Despite what O'Neill had said to her earlier, she could sense the undercurrents in the SG team. She would have to be blind not to be aware of the looks Major Carter and O'Neill were giving each other and wondered why they weren't together. Her thoughts drifted to Riley and Sam Finn and a smile creased her face. She wasn't jealous, she liked Sam Finn a lot and while she had also liked Riley a lot, she would not have been able to marry him.   
  
A quiet knock on the door disturbed her thoughts. Speak of the devil, she thought as Sam Finn poked her head round the corner.  
  
"Hey Buffy" she said. "Can I?"  
  
"Sure" Buffy invited her in and Sam grabbed one of the upright chairs and settled herself on it facing Buffy on the bed.  
  
"How are you doing?" she asked and Buffy shrugged.  
  
"OK I guess."  
  
"I didn't want Riley to call you" Sam said bluntly. "You've been through a lot and I didn't think that you should be responsible for this as well."  
  
"Its OK" Buffy reassured her. "I'm glad to help. We all are."  
  
"I was sorry to hear about Tara. Is Willow OK?"   
  
"She wasn't. But she will be."  
  
Buffy was slightly surprised by the friendliness of the conversation, Sam Finn chatting to her as if they had just met for coffee one day rather than being shanghaied off to a secret military base to discuss ridding a planet of vampires.  
  
"Good" Sam seemed a little uncomfortable. "Well, y'know. I thought I would just drop by. Say hi."  
  
"Come on Sam. Spit it out."   
  
"How did Spike get his soul?" she blurted out. "How can we trust him after what he did?"  
  
Ah, thought Buffy. So that was it. Spike.   
  
"Did Riley send you?" Buffy asked and watched the tell tale flick of Sam's eyelashes.  
  
"He's just concerned, Buffy. You two didn't really get a chance to talk the last time you saw each other. And the last time you saw each other, you were…. y'know…. doing the wild thing with a vampire."  
  
"Wouldn't be the first time" Buffy said dryly and Sam laughed suddenly.  
  
"No, I guess not." Sam looked serious. "He just doesn't want to see you hurt. Neither of us do. He still cares for you Buffy. He's so proud of you."  
  
"You're jealous?" Buffy asked curiously.  
  
Sam shook her head, "I couldn't be jealous of you. You're the Slayer. I'm me. We're different people, Buffy." A look of tenderness entered her eyes. "We just want to be sure that you're OK."  
  
"I'm OK" Buffy answered her. "Really."  
  
Sam Finn seemed satisfied with that. "So how did Spike get his soul?" she asked and Buffy shrugged her ignorance.   
  
"All that matters is, he has it. He's a better person now. A good man."  
  
As long as you believe that, Sam thought to herself, at the hopeful look on Buffy's face. She rose to leave but Buffy called her back.  
  
"Sam?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You two. You're happy?"  
  
Sam nodded. "Yeah. We're happy. We're lucky in lots of ways."  
  
Buffy smiled. "Good."  
  
"I'll see you later"  
  
Sam Finn left her quarters and Buffy laid back on her bed, realising for the first time in a long time, that she was finally at peace with herself over Riley. It was a good feeling.  
  
  
  
She was disturbed by another knock on the door, this time it was Jack O'Neil. She was half asleep but shook herself awake in record time.   
  
"Hi" he said, by way of introduction. "I wonder if we could borrow you for a moment."  
  
"Sure" she said, swinging herself off the bed which, whilst not being too hard or too soft had turned out to be pretty uncomfortable. She stretched her arms, feeling her joints pop a little and glanced in the mirror automatically and frowned.   
  
"Give me a minute" she said and he lounged against the door until she had tugged her blonde hair into a neat ponytail and straightened her clothing. "OK, ready to rumba."  
  
Buffy followed him through the maze of corridors back up to where the Gaterom was and then up to the General's briefing room.   
  
Seated at the table was Major Carter, the two strangers she had seen come through the Stargate and General Hammond. She took a seat opposite Major Carter again and gave a brief smile round the table.  
  
"Jacob, Anise – I'd like to introduce you to Buffy Summers. She's the expert that I was telling you about. Buffy, this is Jacob Carter, and Anise. They are what is known as Tok'ra. They carry a symbiote as the Gou'ld do but host and symbiote exist together in harmony."  
  
Buffy eyed Jacob Carter with curiosity. "You've got a snake thing?" repeating Dawn's comment to Teal'c from earlier that day.  
  
Jacob gave O'Neill a quick grin. He liked this girl. "I do. Would you like to talk to Selmak?"  
  
"It talks?" Buffy was astonished and then realised how rude she had been and covered her mouth.  
  
Jacob took no offence at her outspoken comment and simply closed his eyes and opened them again. They glowed bright white for a moment and then he spoke in a deep timbred voice with a harsh edge to it, startling Buffy.  
  
"Greetings BuffySummers. Colonel O'Neill has spoken highly of you. I hope we will be able to work together."  
  
Well that's just a little bit creepy, Buffy thought to herself but this time kept her thoughts to herself.  
  
"Nice to meet you too er.. Selmak."   
  
Jacob Carter closed his eyes again and re-opened them and smiled.  
  
"Happy now?" he asked and caught the slightly masked shudder. O'Neill hid his disgust for snakeheads a lot better than Buffy did.   
  
"So what's the deal?" Buffy asked. "I heard something earlier about us helping each other."  
  
"Jacob and Anise are here at my invitation" Hammond said. "I thought they might be able to provide some help with this."  
  
"And?" Buffy prompted.  
  
"General Hammond has suggested that we might be able to help with the evacuation of the prisoners on the planet" the symbiote, Anise spoke, her voice hard edged, "but we believe it might be worthwhile to take a step back and look at the larger picture."  
  
"What larger picture?"  
  
"The prisoners on that planet are under the rule of Ahmose. He is a system lord and one that we have been watching for some time." Anise stood and paced the floor steadily. "We believe that instead of dealing with the result, we deal with the reason. Destruction of the system lord Ahmose."  
  
"The system lord?" Buffy repeated. She looked at O'Neill for help but found none. He didn't understand any more than he did.  
  
"If we're talking coming up with a plan here, we need everyone. I can't make a decision and send my friends after some almighty system lord without their agreement."  
  
"Their agreement?" Anise looked astonished. "It is what needs to be done, they do not need to agree."  
  
Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Listen lady, I don't know where you come from but where I come from, if I'm going to put my friends in danger, I'm going to need a damn good reason why."  
  
"Surely the destruction of a system lord is a good reason?"  
  
"Not for me." Buffy stood and addressed General Hammond. "You asked me to come and help you rid a planet of vampires. This whole system lord business was not part of the plan. I kill demons. Not people."  
  
"Ahmose is not a person. Hundreds of planets would benefit from the removal of this lord from power."  
  
Buffy held up one hand. "Save it."  
  
"You will not help?" the Tok'ra seemed confused and appealed to her companion for help. "Selmak?"  
  
"Miss Summers has every right not to want to take part. She is not a soldier, nor does this war involve her. From what Colonel O'Neill tells me, she is already involved in one."  
  
"Surely the war against the Gou'ld should take precedence over petty arguments."  
  
"Listen lady! I don't know who you think you are but let me tell you something. I've saved this world more times than I can count. I don't need to go and take some system lord to save the world. I've been doing it since I was 16. So lets have a little less of the petty arguments and a little more of the respect otherwise I'll kick your two toned creepy eyed ass back through the Stargate to wherever the hell you came from."  
  
"Bravo" O'Neill applauded but ceased clapping at a sharp eyed glare from the General.  
  
"I understand how you feel Buffy. Anise does tend to be a little enthusiastic sometimes. I appreciate that this is a much bigger idea than just taking on a planet full of vampires and saving some prisoners. But I believe she is right." Jacob Carter spoke tactfully. He had spent the last couple of years talking O'Neill round to his ideas, this little girl shouldn't be any harder.  
  
"If we could deal with Ahmose in a permanent way, it would enable us to save millions of people on hundreds of planets. We would be grateful for your help."  
  
"Just supposing we said yes" Buffy held up a quelling hand as Anise was about to speak. "Why do you need us? You've obviously done the whole saving the world thing before too. What do you need us for?"  
  
Jacob Carter grinned at her, a grin his daughter knew well. He had an ace up his sleeve and Buffy was about to get hit with it.  
  
"Didn't we mention it? We believe that Ahmose is a vampire as well." 


	10. Plan B

Jack rolled his eyes. He should have known it. He glanced at Buffy and she seemed similarly unimpressed with the Tok'ra's statement.  
  
"You couldn't just come out and say it? You had to give me some whole spiel about the bigger picture." Buffy glared at Anise who simply stared back impassively. She switched her patented pissed off look at Jacob Carter who had the grace to look a little embarrassed.  
  
"You're saying that Ahmose is a vampire?" General Hammond took control of the discussion now and he and the two Tok'ra fell into a deep conversation about undercover teams and operatives.  
  
Buffy remained silent, still seated at the table, until a friendly hand fell on her shoulder. The blonde haired Major was now standing at her side.  
  
"They'll be here a while yet. Best to leave them to it."  
  
Buffy nodded, still quietly angry at Anise's treatment, and followed the two SG1 members back down the corridor.  
  
"Are they always like that?" she asked eventually and was surprised by the snort that came out of O'Neil's mouth.  
  
"Hell yeah."  
  
"You don't like them?"  
  
"Jacob's OK. Anise has got us into trouble a couple of times. The Tok'ra tend to say one thing and do something else."  
  
She caught O'Neill's bitter tone of voice and the look which he and Major Carter exchanged. They had been caught out by them, badly, judging by his attitude.   
  
"Jacob is your Dad?" she asked Major Carter who smiled and nodded.  
  
"Yeah, he was blended with Selmak some time ago. The symbiote can heal and my Dad had cancer. It was the only choice."  
  
"Some choice," Buffy said quietly, thinking it over.   
  
"Well Dad's alive. And he knows what I do. I see him more now than when he was here on Earth. It's a bit weird." Major Carter laughed at that thought.  
  
They found themselves back at the Commissary and saw a load of the tables had been pushed together. Xander looked like he was in foodie heaven, two bowls of Jell-O in front of him, and another two which had obviously held Jell-O and were now empty. She couldn't help the grin that broke across her face. Dawn glanced up from her bowl of Jell-O and waved her spoon. Buffy waved back and they moved to join the crowded tables.  
  
"What's the matter?" asked Spike, as she sank into a chair beside him.   
  
"Nothing" she reassured him, but he knew her so well. "Have you eaten?"  
  
"Yeah" he said. To his surprise, Sam Finn had shown her kindness and spoken to the Commissary workers. As all the others had grabbed trays full of food, he had been handed a mug of red liquid. He had looked at it in surprise and then back at the man who had handed him the mug. Not a trace of horror or disgust crossed his face. He sipped it cautiously. Pigs blood. But fresh. At least he wouldn't starve.  
  
"Dr Jackson showed us all round the base" said Dawn cheerfully. "He's got the most amazing books in his office."  
  
Buffy detected the embarrassment flushing along Dr Jackson's cheeks and stifled a giggle. She caught the eye of O'Neill who was obviously trying to hide his amusement as well.   
  
"The two people who came through the Stargate have a proposition for us." Buffy announced at Giles' query as to where she had been.  
  
"What kind of proposition?" asked Xander, pausing half way through a mouthful of Jell-O.  
  
"They think that we shouldn't evacuate the people off the planet or kill the vampires."  
  
"That's their proposition? It sucks."   
  
"No. Their proposition is that we go after the system lord."  
  
Daniel and Teal'c looked at O'Neill in surprise.   
  
"They want us to take out Ahmose?" Daniel said in shock. "You're kidding."  
  
"Nope." O'Neill grabbed one of the bowls of Jell-O off the table and began to eat as Buffy explained to her friends what the Tok'ra had suggested. She was immediately up front with them about the situation and there was a massive silence when she told them about Ahmose being a vampire.  
  
"Is that possible?" Daniel asked, turning to Teal'c.  
  
"I have heard stories of a Gou'ld who sacrificed humans and drained them of their blood. But I did believe they were no more than stories." Teal'c looked thoughtful. "It is possible. If the host was a vampire to begin with and then became a Gou'ld, it would be controlled by the symbiote but the symbiote would have to bow to the body's natural urges."  
  
"If a vampire requires blood to survive then the symbiote would have to seek it out." Daniel finished off Teal'c thought.  
  
"Sounds disgusting" Anya said. She was leaning back in her chair, a nail file produced from nowhere and was filing her nails neatly.  
  
"Which bit? The symbiote bit or the blood sucking?" O'Neill asked and Anya shrugged.  
  
"Both I guess."  
  
"So what's going to happen?" Willow asked in her quiet voice.   
  
"Well the good General is in with Anise and Jacob right now discussing what to do. Anise believes that we should go in guns blazing and blow him away. Jacob favours an altogether more … subtle approach." Buffy tapped her fingers on the table pensively. She turned to O'Neill and asked "What do you think?"   
  
"I'm not keen on the guns blazing idea, that's for sure. But then again, I'm not keen on any plan that Anise comes up with."  
  
There was than concealed anger again, Buffy thought. He had lied to her earlier but it was understandable. He had said there were no undercurrents but frankly SG1 seemed like a team ready for therapy as well.  
  
A crewman came in, one of Hammond's aides, and informed them they were needed in the General's office. They all traipsed back to the office but Buffy had already made a decision in her mind. This was something that she wanted to do and she would need some help. But it certainly didn't require all of them. She sat down in her previous seat, Giles and Spike taking up flanking positions either side of her.   
  
Jacob Carter sat opposite her and he gave her an assessing glance. Jack had given him the lowdown on Buffy Summers and the rest of her friends and they sounded like people who would be ideal in this plan. Riley Finn had mentioned another team in LA who might also have to be involved, to a certain extent, if this plan was going to work but it all depended on one thing. How willing the vampire was to help. His gaze fell on Spike who was lounged in the chair next to Buffy, his fingers fiddling with a silver Zippo lighter. He didn't look approachable but he was certainly protective of Buffy and her sister from what the General had told him. Dyed white hair, that would have to go, the whole attitude would have to change, his language, his stance. Spike, aware of eyes on him, looked up and fastened Jacob with a bright blue gaze. Jacob stared back and then dropped his eyes for Selmak to take over. The bright white light glowed in his eyes for a moment and Spike flinched at the sight of it.  
  
"People, if I can have your attention please." General Hammond entered the room and the chatter quietened, interested faces turned in his direction.  
  
The briefing was to the point and set out what the Tok'ra were suggesting. The Sunnydale gang listened in growing amazement as Hammond and Selmak laid out their idea.  
  
"You've got to be kidding" Spike said. "I can't do that."  
  
"With the proper back up, we think you could." Selmak looked at Buffy. "We would be grateful for all your help." He dropped his eyes and allowed Jacob Carter to speak again. "It's one of the first chances we've had to take out Ahmose."  
  
"I don't understand" said Anya, her usual bluntness coming through. "Why can't Willow just, y'know, zap this Ahmose guy?"  
  
"Zap?" Hammond questioned but Willow shook her head violently.  
  
"I can't. I just can't."  
  
Giles patted her hand reassuringly as he saw the panic set into her eyes. "It's alright Willow. No one expects you to do anything." He swept a quick look at Anya who didn't even have the grace to look embarrassed. She just shrugged and went back to playing with her nail file.  
  
"So basically the plan is to send Spike in with Selmak as another vampire Gou'ld with lots of human slaves. We kick his ass, save the galaxy and then come home?" O'Neill laid it out in plain English.  
  
"Yeah" Jacob Carter nodded.  
  
"It sucks."  
  
"You're telling me" Spike said. "You're not the one who has to have the thing in his head."  
  
"It's the best plan we've come up with so far" Jacob said.   
  
"It could use some work" Spike answered. He turned to Buffy who was watching him.   
  
"It's up to you" she said. "You're the one who has to do it."  
  
"There's always Angel" Giles said. "It might help to have him on board."  
  
Spike bristled at that idea. "We don't need that souled ponce."  
  
"Takes one to know one" Xander said under his breath and Spike shot him a glare.  
  
"Angel?" Daniel asked. "Like an actual angel?"  
  
"No, Angel as in Angelus the vampire."  
  
"I read about him" Major Carter said. "His name came up in some of my research. Something about the Scourge of Europe."  
  
"He has a soul now" Buffy said. "He's not evil anymore. Giles is right. It could be useful to have him on board."  
  
"Oh bloody hell" Spike swore. "Why do we have to have him?"  
  
"Is there a problem?" Hammond asked and Buffy shook her head, giving Spike a strong elbow in the ribs.  
  
"No problem General. Just a little history."  
  
"About 100 years worth" Xander muttered under his breath.  
  
"What about the people in LA that Agent Finn mentioned?" Hammond asked.  
  
"Angel is one of the people in LA. We could call them in, see if they'd be prepared to help but" Buffy shrugged, "I don't think everyone needs to be involved in this. Dawn, you should stay here with Willow. You'll be our support from this side of the gate."  
  
"That's a wise idea Buffy." Giles said but was dumbfounded by her next words.  
  
"Yep. They'll be looking after you." 


	11. The Finer Points

Giles looked at his Slayer, stunned.   
  
"You're joking?"  
  
"I certainly am not," her face took on a stubborn expression and he sighed inwardly. He knew that face so well and knew that there was no chance of getting round her now she had made her mind up.  
  
"Why am I staying?" he asked quietly but was interrupted by Anya speaking hopefully.  
  
"Am I staying?"  
  
"No. You're coming with me."   
  
The vengeance demon's face fell. "Why do I have to come? I don't want to save the galaxy."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes "Anya, don't be difficult." The vengeance demon folded her arms huffily.  
  
"Why do I have to go into perilous danger? Why can't Willow go?" Another glare from Buffy quietened her down but she couldn't help pouting a little.  
  
"I don't quite understand the idea Miss Summers" General Hammond said bemused.   
  
She turned to him. "I think that we should split into two teams. One going to take this Ahmose guy out and the other team staying here in case we get into trouble. Giles, Willow and Dawn should stay. Giles, we'll need you if we get into trouble, same for Willow. Dawn is too young."  
  
"I'm always too young" Dawn grumbled. "You said you were going to be less protective of me."  
  
"I am" Buffy said crisply. "You're too young to pass as a slave girl."  
  
"Actually…" Daniel was about to speak but O'Neill kicked him hard on the leg causing his eyes to water. All faces had already turned to him and he carried on speaking quickly. "She's right. You're too young."  
  
Dawn shot him one of her best smiles but Buffy carried on quickly.   
  
"I think the first group that goes should consist of me, Anya, Spike, Xander, Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, Riley and Sam."  
  
"I do not understand, BuffySummers" Teal'c said. "Surely I should accompany you on this mission?"  
  
"I think you might stand out Teal'c" Buffy said apologetically. "Colonel O'Neill gave me the lowdown on your background. What are the chances of Ahmose recognising your tattoo?"  
  
"He would be familiar with the symbol." Teal'c conceded.  
  
"Which is why you're staying." Buffy turned to General Hammond. "This is just my idea. I'm sure you military guys have good strategy and all but I'm doing this based on what I know of vamps. It's best to have two teams and split our strength. If we get into trouble then the second team can come after us. I'll call Angel, he'll need to know about this."  
  
"Go on Miss Summers." Hammond was intrigued by this girl. She looked so young and like a typical valley girl. Nowhere on her face did it say keen strategist, smart thinker, hard fighter. He took a longer harder look at her and compared it with the girl he had seen fighting the vampire earlier. It didn't say it on her face, it said it everywhere. He would have been proud to have this girl under his command and he was fascinated by her ideas.   
  
She shrugged. "I've done my bit" she said and turned to Jacob Carter. "This blending with Spike, its not going to hurt him, is it?"  
  
"It is momentarily painful but only for a moment," Jacob said honestly.  
  
"And when this is over?" Buffy asked challengingly.  
  
"Selmak is also not fond of the idea of drinking blood." Jacob said with a smile. "But we will do what needs to be done. She will leave Spike and return to me."  
  
"What about you, Dad?" Major Carter asked.  
  
"I'll be coming with you" he said. "I know the undercover Tok'ra in Ahmose's service. But hopefully I can pass as a slave. There is just one thing." Jacob looked seriously at Spike. "You need to be completely sure about this, Spike. Selmak will need to be in control all of the time that she is blended with you to keep up the pretence. A Gou'ld would never let the host speak or have control for any period of time."  
  
Spike nodded but looked unimpressed by the idea. "OK."  
  
"That leaves Dr Jackson, Teal'c, the rest of Agent Finn's team, Mr Giles, Miss Rosenberg, and Miss Summers here." Hammond ticked everyone off on his fingers.   
  
O'Neill glanced over at Buffy. She had managed to swing it so that most of physically strongest and most experienced people were on the first team. It was obvious why she was leaving Dawn behind. He didn't really understand why she was leaving Willow behind – the girl had power Buffy said but she obviously didn't think she could deal with this sort of thing just yet. Giles, he understood. O'Neill exchanged a quick glance with Teal'c and nodded. If he had to go on a mission like this, it was good to know there was someone like Teal'c coming to get him if it all went horribly wrong.  
  
"How exactly are we planning to off this bloke?" Spike asked curiously. "I mean, he's a vampire so a fire, a stake or sunlight are going to be the only options here."  
  
"What kills Gou'lds?" Buffy asked O'Neill who grinned.   
  
"I always find a good bomb up the ass does the trick for me."  
  
"You're kidding?" she said in astonishment and he shook his head, laughing. "I don't think that's an option here Colonel."  
  
"Sure it is. It's fire."  
  
O'Neill didn't even need to look at Carter to know that she was rolling her eyes and trying not to laugh at his simple stupidity. He couldn't help himself and snatched a quick sideways glance. He was right. Her blue eyes were sparkling with mirth and amusement and a smile played around her lips.  
  
At this point, Riley Finn who had stayed silent so far raised his hand to catch the General's attention.  
  
"Agent Finn?"  
  
"I think I must be missing something here Sir. Why can't we just send in an undercover team to deal with this?"  
  
"Gou'ld security is incredibly hard to penetrate. Tok'ra are, as they have to be, undercover. We cannot take the chance of betraying our operative. We do believe that this is the best course of action at this time." Anise spoke seriously and seemed completely oblivious to the glances being exchanged around the table.  
  
"Are you coming with us?" O'Neill asked and remained unsurprised when she shook her head.  
  
"I have not been trained for work in the field. I will be remaining here with the second team."  
  
"Big surprise there" O'Neill whispered under his breath and got a hard nudge in the ribs from Carter and a ferocious glare from Hammond.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill you have command of the first team. Miss Summers I would appreciate it if you would take orders from the Colonel and Major Carter."  
  
Buffy reluctantly nodded but brightened when he carried on talking.  
  
"Colonel, Major, listen to Miss Summers and her friends. These are vampires you are dealing with and they have more experience than you."  
  
The two SG1 members nodded.   
  
"You're dismissed. Colonel. Please brief your team and liaise with Miss Summers and Agent Finn as to team responsibilities. Jacob?" Hammond turned to Jacob Carter and smiled at his old friend. "You and Spike will have some matters to discuss before the blending."  
  
Jacob nodded. Spike sighed and flicked his Zippo lighter a couple of times.  
  
"What exactly does this blending thing involve?" he asked.  
  
"There are several ways that Selmak can leave my body and enter yours. It's probably a good idea to involve Dr Frasier in this just incase.  
  
"You do know that the only way to kill Spike is fire, sunlight or stake through the heart?" Xander asked.   
  
"Yes" Jacob answered.  
  
"In that case I don't think a doctor is needed." Spike said.  
  
"The doctor isn't for you Spike." Buffy said and watched as comprehension dawned over his face.  
  
"I have a question" Anya said, speaking to Jacob and he looked curious. "What do slaves wear anyway?" 


	12. LA Story

"What do you mean, he's missing?" Buffy's petulant tone rang through the briefing room and everyone turned to look at her. "You don't know where he is? OK. Let me speak to Cordelia then……. She's missing too?"  
  
She covered the speaker of the receiver she was holding and turned to look at her friends who were looking anxiously back at her and shrugged.  
  
"It's some girl answered the phone. She said Angel and Cordelia are missing. She wants to speak to you Willow."  
  
Willow came over and took the receiver from Buffy's hand and began a rapid fire conversation.  
  
"Hey Fred….yeah……no……fine…….both of them……same night…….weird……How about Wes? OK maybe not then…..we're good…..nope, nothing really you two can do……call if they turn up OK…..sure. Bye."  
  
She turned to the others.  
  
"You heard. Angel and Cordelia are missing. Both vanished on the same night. They've looked everywhere for them but can't find any trace except for Angel's car on top of a cliff and Cordy's car on the side of the highway. Wes isn't around much so we can't get hold of him."  
  
"He's not dead" Spike's languid tone cut through the silence. "I'd know. He's not dead."  
  
"I'm not even going to ask how you know that" Xander said, mild disgust in his voice and Spike grinned.  
  
"Dru was my sire, Angelus was hers. There's a link. We're all members of the same happy family."   
  
"You can feel each other?" Daniel asked with interest. He was fascinated by the vampire and, at any opportunity, was asking him questions about his lineage.  
  
"Sort of." Spike looked pleadingly at Buffy. "I'm dying for a smoke."  
  
Buffy exchanged a look with O'Neill who checked the time, realised it was after 8pm and asked Daniel to accompany Spike to the surface.  
  
"Is there a problem?" Hammond asked.  
  
"Not really" Buffy said. "I just would have preferred Angel to be here. He might have been slightly better at carrying off the whole "lord of the system" business. I hope he's OK."  
  
"I'm sure wherever he and Cordelia are, they're fine." Giles said reassuringly. "There is, of course, someone else who might be of some help."  
  
"No way, Giles" Buffy's tone was firm.   
  
"She's learning her lesson. We could do with someone strong."  
  
"Strong but stupid. She's a loose cannon, we can't take the chance."  
  
Giles gazed at his Slayer. As always, her reaction to Faith was predictable. Not unwarranted – Faith had gone off the rails pretty drastically and to some extent, Giles had always blamed himself for that. Wes wouldn't have known any better, the Council were blind and foolish for even thinking he would be able to control the girl. But him? He should have been able to handle it. But he had growing respect for Faith. She had handed herself in to the police in LA, facing up to her crimes and learning some responsibility for the power that she carried, and some respect for other people. But Buffy wouldn't hear of it. They had managed without Faith before, they could do it again. Giles was also privately of the opinion that Buffy felt threatened by Faith, her confidence, her blatant sexuality and ease with her abilities. Buffy was very lucky in comparison to Faith, a relatively stable family life, a mother who loved her and now a sister. That plus a Watcher and friends who willingly fought side by side with her was something Faith had been denied. She had tried so hard to fit in but Buffy, dubious of another's power, had never accepted her, not really. Faith was a survivor, she had to be. Buffy had her friends and family to turn to – even if she didn't turn to them, it didn't mean they weren't there and didn't love her.  
  
Watcher and Slayer gazed at each other for a long moment and then Giles nodded, once.  
  
"Not for the moment then," he said. She opened her mouth to protest but he held up a quelling hand and she shut it again. "If something happens to you, we will need her."  
  
"That's reassuring" mumbled Anya. "Little Miss Likes To Kill as part of our rescue team."  
  
The SG team had stayed back watching the interaction of Buffy and Giles. It was plain to see that Giles loved Buffy deeply with the love of a father, pride written on his face as she set out her plan, hurt when she would not allow him to fight beside her and discipline when he made his own plans.   
  
"We can manage without Angel and Cordelia" Giles said finally. "I'll call Faith in only if something happens. Not before."  
  
"OK."  
  
The decision made, Hammond turned to Jacob and he began to go through the finer points of being a Gou'ld slave.  
  
Up on the surface, Spike inhaled the cigarette smoke deeply, tasting the bitterness on his tongue. Daniel watched.  
  
"I know what you're going to ask" Spike said, "You're going to ask, how does he do that when he's dead."  
  
"It was one question. Yes." Daniel made himself comfortable on the grass next to Spike.  
  
"I don't know" Spike said, grinning. "I just can. Very useful."  
  
"You said that you would know if Angel was dead. Who is this Angel guy?"  
  
Spike gave Daniel an assessing look and took another drag of his cigarette. "You're asking the wrong person, mate. I'm no fan of Angel's and vice versa. Personally, I'm glad he's dropped off the face of the earth."  
  
Daniel blinked. "But he's your ….sire?" he fumbled for the right word.   
  
Spike shook his head. "He's my sire's sire. And my sire's lover and general obsession."  
  
"Your sire?" Daniel was confused.  
  
"Drusilla. Beautiful girl. Angelus drove her insane just before he turned her." Spike stubbed the cigarette out on the ground and stared thoughtfully at the stars. "She adored him and he used her. She found me, confused and lost in London and turned me. She wanted companionship I think. Someone who would love her the way she loved Angelus. But she didn't love me. Not really."  
  
"Very complicated."  
  
"You have no idea. You think your little undercurrents running round this base are tough? They're nothing. Your Colonel and Major? You should tell them to sort it out and get together to make the most of the time they have before they lose each other for good. Nothing like living for the moment. That's what this lot have learned. To live for now. You talk of fighting and saving the world. You don't realise that the little girl down there has been doing it since she was 15. You don't understand how easy it is for life to be suddenly snuffed out. For people to be there one moment and gone the next."  
  
Spike stared soberly at Daniel. He remembered Tara, the sorrow on Buffy's face when she told him what had happened. The horror that had sank into his heart at the thought he would never see her gentle smile. Something about her had crept into his mind and he had liked her. She had been kind to him and he had protected her, the way he might have protected Drusilla once.  
  
"I don't understand." Daniel said honestly. "What makes you different from the vampires here on Earth, or the ones on the planet?"  
  
"I have a soul. So does Angel. It sets us apart. Makes us almost human." Spike smiled bitterly, lighting another cigarette. "Makes us remember."  
  
"Remember?"  
  
"Everything. Imagine not having a conscience. Not caring if people lived or died but preferring it if they died. Imagine evil. Evil with this face."  
  
Spike turned to Daniel and looked at him seriously. "Nothing I will ever see can compare to what I have seen and done. You allow me to sit here, oblivious to the crimes I've committed, the things I've done."  
  
"You have a soul now" Daniel said and Spike snorted derisively.  
  
"You sound like her. It doesn't make an difference. I am still the person who did those things."  
  
"Why are you doing this then? What are you helping us for?"  
  
Spike shrugged and pinched out his cigarette. "Redemption?" 


	13. Blending

Author's Note: I've had some emails asking me why Angel and Cordelia are missing. Timeline wise this is set at the beginning of Buffy S7, hence why Willow is back and Spike has his soul (although I've fiddled with canon slightly by bringing Giles back early and making no mention of The First). This puts it at the beginning of Angel S4 hence why Cordelia and Angel are missing – Cordelia having "ascended" and Angel stuck in a box under the sea.  
  
"So tell me again, how does this work?" Spike asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice. He was lying on his side on a bed in the infirmary staring up at Janet Fraiser. She was standing over him with her clipboard, scribbling notes. He fascinated her as much as he fascinated Daniel. There was no pulse, no heart beat and yet he breathed, he ate, he smoked, he drank. There was brain activity, his eyes reacted to her famous eye exam and although he was stronger, faster and more resistant to pain, apart from the fact his body should have decomposed years ago, he was fine.  
  
"Selmak will move from Jacob to you orally. It's best to stay as relaxed as possible and just to let Selmac do all the hard work." Janet frowned at the piece of paper she was looking at and turned to Anise who was standing over Jacob Carter.  
  
"Is this going to hurt?" he asked and Anise turned to him.  
  
"The blending process is only momentarily painful. You should not feel pain for more than a few seconds."  
  
"Are we ready?" Fraiser asked and Anise nodded. Spike watched Anise from his prone position, admiring her figure in the tight fitting clothing she was wearing.  
  
"Are you ready Spike?" Frasier asked and he nodded resigned.  
  
Buffy and Riley stood close by, out of the way of the nurses, watching. Buffy was still unsure about this but having not been able to get hold of Angel, this looked the only way.  
  
She watched as Jacob rolled on to his side, close enough to Spike for their noses to touch. Spike, unusually nervous at the Tok'ra's proximity looked suddenly nervous.  
  
"You might want to close your eyes for the transition" Jacob advised and Spike did so.  
  
"Open your mouth" he said and Spike did. Jacob leaned in and there was a blur of movment as Selmak leapt from Jacob to Spike. Jacob rolled onto his back and lay there, eyes closed, breathing shallowly.  
  
Spike flung his head back and howled loudly. Dr Frasier and the two nurses who had been standing by the bed leapt back in surprise and Anise leaned forward in concern.  
  
"Selmak?" she called. "Try and take control if you can. You must calm the demon."  
  
The vampire's body tensed in a painful position, all muscles taut, the blue eyes open, wide and staring.  
  
"What's happening?" Buffy accused. "You said it wouldn't hurt."  
  
"I think that the symbiote and the demon are fighting for control" Riley said. "Spike or Selmak need to gain control over the demon within him."  
  
"I thought the chip controlled the demon" Buffy said and Riley shrugged before turning his attention back to the room.  
  
Dr Frasier had hold of Spike's hand, not doctorly at all, and was talking rapidly to try and comfort him. She gave Buffy a harried, pleading glance and the Slayer stepped forward, pushing Anise out of the way to take his other hand. She babbled away about anything and everything until the agony on Spike's face began to dissipate. Fraiser and Anise turned their attention of Jacob Carter who was lying on his back now, having rolled away from Spike. He was breathing heavily but a quick look at the monitors reassured her. Sam Carter was standing next to her father's bed, her hands holding his firmly, keeping an eye on him until Frasier had finished with Spike.  
  
"I thought you said it was Jacob who would need the Doctor" Buffy glared at Anise.  
  
"This outcome could not have been foreseen" the Tok'ra said. "I did not believe that the demon and the symbiote might wrestle for control of the host."  
  
Buffy was incredulous. "You did not believe? What the hell did you think would happen?" She turned back to Spike who was now relaxing on the bed, the dreadful rictus gone from his body. She swallowed hard as the bright glow emanated from his eyes but forced herself to keep hold of his hand.  
  
"Spike?" she asked nervously. "You OK?"  
  
"This body has been severely abused" the hard edged tone of the symbiote came through. "I will need to rest in order to restore the damage."  
  
"You can do that? What kind of damage is there?" Buffy stroked Spike's hand, reassurance that she was still there.  
  
"Too numerous to count." Spike closed his eyes and then opened them again, the blue gaze instead of the glow bringing relief. "Godamn it, where is that woman? I'm going to wring her bloody neck. Only hurt a little, my lily white arse!"  
  
Buffy grinned at Frasier. "That's our Spike. Nothing wrong with him."  
  
"How are you feeling Spike?" Anise asked and flinched when he glared at her.  
  
"What a bloody stupid question. How the hell do you think I am? I've got something in my head that isn't me."  
  
"Your feelings are quite normal" pronounced Anise. She examined the machine she had hooked him up to. "All your signs are normal. We must wait to see if the blending has been successful."  
  
Spike managed another glare at the Tok'ra before allowing Frasier to lie him back on the bed. His eyes closed tiredly as his outburst on to of the blending had sapped all his strength.  
  
"I'll come back and see you later" promised Buffy but he gave no sign that he heard her. Frasier nodded to Buffy, promising to call her as soon as he had awoken.  
  
She somehow managed to find her way back to the quarters that had been assigned to them and found Dawn, Anya, Xander, Colonel O'Neill and Daniel in the room that she and Dawn were sharing.  
  
"How's Spike?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Same old Spike. Selmak said something about there being a lot of damage to the body so they'll need to rest for a bit before we can try anything. I can't imagine she'll like him smoking." Buffy said.  
  
O'Neill grinned. "Jacob doesn't smoke."  
  
"He doesn't drink blood either but Selmak will have to let Spike take control for those things I think otherwise Spike will just waste away."  
  
"Like that would be a bad thing" Riley said, who had followed Buffy out of the Infirmary. She shot him a searing glance.  
  
"I told you – he's different now. He has a soul."  
  
Her words echoed in Daniel's mind. You sound just like her Spike had said. As if having a soul made up for the years of bloody mayhem he had wreaked upon the word.  
  
"Whatever," Riley mumbled.  
  
"Let's not get into this OK. I'm not the one who....."  
  
Riley held his hand up "OK. I get where you're going with this. No Spike bashing."  
  
Buffy folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "If you've got a problem you might as well spit it out."  
  
"No problem" Riley gritted out. "I need to go and find my team." He turned on his heel and his footsteps echoed loudly down the corridor as he stalked away.  
  
"What was that about?" O'Neill asked as Buffy took a seat next to her sister.  
  
"Just old history. Riley and Spike don't get on well. Which isn't surprising when you think Riley is partly to blame for the whole chip in the head business."  
  
"I'm not even going to ask" O'Neill said.  
  
"It won't affect anything. Riley is a focused guy and Spike will have Selmak to hold him back."  
  
"How is Major Carter's Dad?" asked Dawn.  
  
"He's fine. Tired I think." Buffy leaned back. "Must be weird, having someone else in your head like that." She looked at Daniel and O'Neill. "Ever tried it?"  
  
"I would never have a snake in my head voluntarily" O'Neill said. "Frankly, I'd rather cut my arm off." Daniel nodded his agreement with this.  
  
"What about Major Carter?" asked Dawn and Daniel and O'Neill exchanged glances.  
  
"Carter's been possessed by a Tok'ra. Not voluntarily but apparently," O'Neill's voice was heavy on the sarcasm, "apparently it was an emergency. She was doing mouth to mouth resus on some guy on a planet and the snake leapt from the guy to Carter."  
  
Dawn shuddered. "What happened?"  
  
"Jolinar gave up her life so that Sam could live" Daniel said. At Dawn's questioning look he clarified. "Jolinar was the name of the Tok'ra symbiote. She was the first contact we had with the Tok'ra."  
  
"Yeah, and life's been a bed of roses since" mumbled O'Neill.  
  
"I'm sensing some pent up anger here" Xander noted and O'Neill grinned at the boy. He was getting to like him.  
  
"They're not the most reliable folks you'll ever meet. Have a tendency to say one thing and mean or do something completely different. They've got their own agenda and don't like sharing too much."  
  
Silence fell at this, all of them considering briefly what they were getting into.  
  
The more Xander heard about this, the less he wanted to be involved. The slave clothes that Jacob Carter had shown him were less than modest although Anya's eyes had glowed in remembrance when she saw him in the tightly fitted pants and close cut tunic. It seemed to reveal more than it hid, a bit like the girl's costumes.  
  
Buffy was incredibly glad she had stopped Dawn from coming. No-one under the age of 18 should be dressed in the clothing she and Anya would be wearing. The tiny mini skirt did not even reach mid thigh length and the cropped top left nothing at all to the imagination.  
  
Jacob Carter had looked mildly apologetic when he laid the clothes out but reminded them that he would have to wear them as well and that they needed to be believable. He was going on information from the Tok'ra operative who was in Ahmose' service. This was how his slaves were dressed, hence why they would be dressed similarly. Jacob had explained that Ahmose placed the same importance on beauty as he did on power.  
  
"Which is to say he likes having beautiful things around him. People, objects, planets, whatever." The assessing look he had given everyone did not fool them. "You all qualify. Even you Colonel" as O'Neill had been about to open his mouth with some smart ass comment.  
  
"Why Jacob, I didn't know you cared."  
  
Jacob Carter rolled his eyes and carried on with the briefing, how to conduct themselves, how to hold themselves, what would be expected of them.  
  
"Do we need to be marked for this?" Buffy asked and Jacob was silent for a moment and then Selmak had taken over.  
  
"Marked?"  
  
Buffy lifted her hair away from her neck and showed the scar Angel had left on her neck. Selmak had stroked an exploratory finger over it and then stepped away.  
  
"I do not believe so. Slave collars will be provided for you. I don't think that Spike will need to mark anyone."  
  
"I don't get this marking business" Daniel said and Buffy showed him her scar.  
  
"I've been bitten. Twice. Once by Dracula and once by Angel."  
  
"You've been bitten by Dracula?" O'Neill breathed. "Cool."  
  
"You mean we would all have to be bitten?" Daniel said, distaste clear on his face and Buffy shook her head.  
  
"No. Selmak has just said she doesn't think we need to be. Anyway," a frown crossed Buffy's face, "I'm not sure Spike would be able to. The only person he can cause any physical harm to is me."  
  
"Really? Is that some Slayer-Vampire thing?" Daniel asked.  
  
"Nope, it's a long complicated thing which I don't want to get into right now" Buffy had said shortly, making it obvious that her relationship with Spike was not up for conversation now or at any time.  
  
An uncomfortable silence had fallen, broken seconds later by O'Neill.  
  
"So Dracula? What's he like?" 


	14. Complication

Complication

Author's note: Sorry it's been such a long time. Hope this makes up for it.

It had been definitely been a day to remember, O'Neill decided. He had seen some things that he had never thought he would see and he intended to keep them stored up in his memory for those bad times, like when he was being tortured or when his hockey team were losing.

Spike had been less than impressed with Anise and so the Tok'ra scientist was keeping her distance from the vampire. The presence of Selmak within Spike was something he got used to surprisingly quickly although he hadn't quite mastered arguing silently with her. Instead, he would suddenly start whispering violently to himself and, from everyone else's point of view, it was highly amusing as they could only hear one side of the conversation. Spike was getting used to letting Selmak take control for longer and longer periods, working up to giving her full control for the mission – they had agreed that Spike would have control for short periods on the mission, for feeding only. Selmak had stimulated Spike's hair follicles so his hair now hung down past his shoulders and, with the help of Dr Fraiser, had been coloured black. It was now worn drawn back from his face in a ponytail. The first time he had walked into the room every female had been struck dumb including Buffy, Anya and, to Riley's discomfort and O'Neill's amusement, Sam Finn.

Spike was now dressed in black trousers which clung to his long legs, he wore a dark red long jacket which was open at the front, exposing his pale chest. Around his neck he wore a necklet with a small motif on it which had also been stamped on to the slave collars that his "slaves" would be wearing. He wore kohl eye shadow to highlight his glittering blue eyes and his swaggering walk had been curbed into a slower paced step, walking with more authority and less cockiness.

The second surprise of the day was Sam Carter. The girls had taken themselves off into her quarters to deal with their costumes. Jacob had advised on appropriate makeup and hairstyles. Buffy, Sam Finn and Anya wore their hair back off their faces, leaving dozens of tiny plaits hanging down from a central ponytail. Carter, with her short hair, did not have this choice and so had to submit to hair extensions. She looked drastically different with long hair, something that he had half registered on his trip through the quantum mirror, but that hadn't really been his Sam Carter. His Sam Carter now wore her hair in a style similar to the other girls with the makeup accentuating her features. But that wasn't the biggest shocker.

As the girls had trooped into the Gateroom to take their leave, his eyes had latched straight on to the first pair of legs that came through the door. These happened to belong to Anya whose skirt fell to mid thigh length. Buffy came through next and, to his surprise, neither girl seemed particularly bothered about how much flesh they were showing. But, he reflected, they were young. They probably dressed like this all the time just to go out shopping. Carter was a completely different story. She followed Sam Finn into the Gateroom and O'Neill jaw hit the floor so hard it nearly bounced back up again. He had never seen so much of her in one go. Ever. Her skirt must have been at least 2 inches shorter than those belonging to the other girls, her top bared her toned midriff which, to his surprise, sported a tiny sparkling belly ring. That was something he would never have imagined his second in command. Not that you think about your second in command, he berated himself. She, like the others, wore knee high boots and never in all of his illicit fantasies about her had O'Neill ever pictured her in that sort of outfit. Of course, he would be making a major change to some of his fantasies.....

O'Neill became aware of two pairs of eyes on him and turned to see Jacob Carter and Spike/Selmak regarding him suspiciously. O'Neill gave his most innocent smile and busied himself with checking his equipment and mentally running over Sam Carter's stomach...NO! Running over the mission plan.

"We'll be gating into P4X-964," Jacob Carter had said in the briefing. "From there, we'll use the ring transport to get on to the Gou'ld transport that we've managed to obtain for this occasion. It will be crewed mostly by Tok'ra who have experience as flight crew. From there on in Selmak will have majority control of Spike and she will have command of this. I want all of you to be under no illusions that this is very dangerous. From the intelligence we've received, Ahmose has very tight security. He does not have Jaffa soldiers but an army of vampires."

"Oh joy," Xander had muttered, eliciting a smile from O'Neill.

"The aim of the mission is to take Ahmose out together with as many of his troops as possible. Unfortunately, he keeps humans on his ship as slaves and we need to get as many off as possible. If we take Ahmose out without being in control of the ship, he could wreak an amazing amount of retribution on the humans still under his control."

General Hammond followed the last of the team into the Gateroom to see them off. Buffy glanced up and saw Giles, Dawn and Willow standing in the briefing room with Teal'c and Daniel Jackson. looking down at them. She had said goodbye to them earlier but now she was looking up at Dawn. Her sister was sniffing a little but was determined not to cry. She gave her a little wave and Buffy waved back reassuringly.

The chevrons sounded and the Stargate spun before them. Willow's mouth opened in wonder as the pool blossomed within the centre of the ring, spun out like a whirlpool before settling back within the confines of the circle.

"God speed" Hammond said and Jacob Carter strode up the ramp followed by Sam and Riley Finn, Buffy and Spike, Jacob Carter, Colonel O'Neill, Carter, Xander and Anya. Without hesitation they all stepped straight through the shimmering event horizon. No one expected the yelp and crash from the ramp as Anya walked through the Stargate and came straight out the other side, falling off the end of the ramp and landing painfully on the floor.

Teal'c and Daniel Jackson ran down the stairs to the Gateroom and as soon as the wormhole destabilised and dissipated, they ran round the side of the Gate to find Anya sitting up slowly, rubbing her head. She eyed them in a disgruntled fashion.

"I take it that wasn't supposed to happen?" she asked grumpily, allowing them to pull her to her feet. She followed them back round into the main part of the Gateroom and Hammond stared at her astonished.

"What in God's name happened there?"

"I have no idea" Teal'c said, his raised eyebrows the only clue that he was as surprised as the rest of them. "I have never before heard of such a thing."

"Unfortunately, we've sent the only person who would be able to make an educated guess off the planet" Hammond looked annoyed before turning to shout up to the Control Room. "I don't want anyone else going through the Gate until we know what happened. Run a full diagnostic."

"Er, General?"

The tone of Daniel Jackson's voice caught at Hammond's attention and he turned round to find a large figure striding down the ramp. The Gate had not activated, nor had any security alarms gone off. He couldn't even begin to describe the thing that was now standing opposite him.

"D'Hoffryn? What the hell is going on?"

However it looked like Anya did know who he was. Giles, Willow and Dawn skidded to a stop beside Anya, showing no fear.

"Anyanka. What do you think you are doing? I employ you as a vengeance demon – are you due a vacation? No. Does it look like Christmas? I think not." He eyed her approvingly. "Nice outfit though. Perhaps I should think about a uniform."

Anya folded her arms resolutely. "What happened?"

D'Hoffryn ignored her, turning his attention to the redhead standing next to Giles. "Miss Rosenburg. What a pleasure to see you again. You haven't reconsidered by any chance?"

Willow shook her head mutely and the demon's hopeful expression fell.

"Ah well. A shame. That was some sterling work you did last year – even if it was unpaid."

"It was wrong," Willow's voice was low but strong. "I did a bad thing."

"I suppose that all depends on your point of view." D'Hoffryn shrugged and looked back at Anya. "So Anyanka. Where do you think you're going?"

"Trust me, I couldn't even begin to explain."

"You're attempting to get off the planet by means of this...contraption." D'Hoffryn gestured at the Stargate. "You seem to have forgotten your contract."

"You have to sign a contract?" Dawn asked in shock and Anya nodded gloomily.

"You are bound to this planet unless you have filed a memo with me to note that you will be taking extra planet leave. Which you haven't. So you can't."

"You're joking?" Hammond couldn't keep quiet. The demon swung round to face him.

"Does this look like the face of someone who is joking?" D'Hoffryn shook his head. "Whatever it is you seem to have got yourself into, get yourself out of it. Let the delightful Miss Summers do her job and you do yours." He paused for a moment and then continued. "You can keep the outfit though." He nodded formally around and then handed a card to Willow. "We're on D-net now, so you happen to feel the urge again, please do let me know."

He vanished in a cloud of greasy smelling smoke, leaving them all speechless.

"What is D-net?" Daniel asked, cautiously.

"Demon net. It's like the internet. Only....not." Anya chewed her lip. "I'm stuck here? I can't believe I'm stuck here."

"I would like an explanation please," Hammond said sharply. "Now!"

"Perhaps it might be more appropriate to discuss this in private?" Giles suggested. "If we can let the others know what has happened, it might be helpful."

Hammond strode out of the Gateroom and up into the Control Room. "Contact the planet, let them know what's happened."

The sergeant nodded and immediately set to work, dialling the planet again to send the message. Hammond gestured to them to follow him into his office.

"I can't wait to hear this."

Jack O'Neill sighed as he stepped away from the wormhole. Typical. They hadn't even made it through the wormhole without something going wrong. He relayed the message to his team and saw the tension in Xander's face ease a little. Buffy looked a bit pensive. She hadn't liked D'Hoffryn making an appearance but she had other things on her mind.

"Where is the rendezvous point, Dad?" Carter asked, slinging her bag on her shoulder.

"About 2 clicks east of here," Jacob Carter said, silently wishing that he had found a slightly more modest outfit for his daughter. "They will be waiting for my signal."

"Let's move out, people." O'Neill ordered.

The ring transport, Xander decided, was one of the niftier pieces of technology he had come across in his life. It was almost a Star Trek transporter and he bit his tongue to avoid saying "beam me up Scotty."

The Tok'ra who were acting as flight crew on the ship barely acknowledged their presence. They were slightly bemused by the Spike/Selmak duality, the symbiote and the vampire still bickering over something or other, but were happy enough to take their orders from him and from Jacob Carter whom they still trusted, even without Selmak within him.

"It'll take 6 hours to get near Ahmose's ship. I will act as Selmak's assistant and arrange a preliminary meeting. It is customary for gifts to be given and for slaves to be exchanged. Depending on who he shows an interest in, depends on who will be exchanged. I'm not keen on splitting us up but I believe that if we can infiltrate Ahmose's ship, we'll be able to get close to him to assassinate him."

"What about his army of vampires?" Buffy asked. "Are we supposed to stake our way through the entire lot?"

Jacob Carter pulled out zat guns and handed them round. "These will do the trick. Jack will explain how to use them. I need to get up the bridge and organise this meeting."

He left the room and O'Neill and Carter demonstrated how to use the zat guns and explained about the settings. Buffy handled it carefully, looking it over. She tossed it gently from hand to hand, flipping it over.

"Where precisely are we supposed to hide these?" Buffy asked, with a half grin on her face.

"No place I want to know about," O'Neill answered, hiding his smile.


	15. Ahmose

Jacob Carter came into the main chamber of the ship. Spike was seated on the throne which was positioned centrally, high on a dais. Buffy was seated at his feet, her legs tucked beneath her. She was watching the scene before her with a blank expression. Xander was lounging, one step lower, his attention on the centre of the room. Jack O'Neill and Riley Finn stood formally, either side of him, staff weapons held upright. In the area below the throne, Sam Carter and Sam Finn were fighting with quarterstaffs. It looked to Jacob as though Sam Finn was actually training his daughter but then, Samantha would not have had much experience with the quarterstaff. P90s and nuclear weapons were much more her style. He watched proudly as Carter swung the quarterstaff from one hand to the other as if she had been doing it all her life. Sam Finn attacked suddenly and Carter blocked it deftly. Another sweep with the quarterstaff at knee level sent Carter into a neat jump before ducking as it came round at head height. Sam Finn paused as she caught sight of Jacob.  
  
"Well?" she asked expectantly.  
  
Jacob looked around. "This is all very formal."  
  
Buffy stood and stretched. "We thought it might be an idea to practice what it is we're supposed to be doing." She sent Spike a half hearted frown. "And Spike thinks that I would be best sitting at his feet."  
  
"You're not his bodyguard, Buffy. You are his slave. A plaything, nothing more." Jacob tried to explain but knew that she was pissed that she was being relegated to an archaic position.  
  
Buffy caught the beginnings of a smile on Spike's face and pointed her finger at him. "Don't think this isn't going to come back and bite you on the ass."  
  
"It will provide more of an element of surprise" Jacob added. "In these situations, the women tend to be submissive, quiet. They do not expect them to be warriors."  
  
"Is this going to be the ultimate slay then?" Xander asked.  
  
"I think pretty much covered that when I managed to beat Glory" Buffy said. "One god is pretty much like another."  
  
"Except Glory was actually a god. Ahmose isn't." Xander looked at her in concern. He didn't really like mentioning Glory and Buffy's associated death and resurrection.  
  
"You've fought a god?" Jacob sounded shocked.  
  
"It's complicated." Buffy looked at Spike. "What do you think? Can we pull this off?"  
  
"Spike says if you can restrain your temper, there should be no problems." Selmak spoke in the hard edged tone but it sounded unreal, as it was Spike's voice with Spike's British accent.  
  
"You can tell Spike that…" Buffy began but then realised that Selmak was teasing her. She grinned. "I'll try."  
  
"Resume your positions." Selmak said and Buffy settled herself at his feet again, a blank expression veiling her face. Riley Finn and O'Neill pulled themselves to attention. Jacob still felt a little disorientated without Selmak's constant presence in his mind and found himself longing for her reassuring voice. He looked forward to the end of this mission and her return and that surprised him a little. He knew she would return with intimate knowledge of Spike and the life he had led.  
  
"Jacob, what news?"  
  
Jacob bowed formally. "My Lord. I have spoken with the First Prime of Ahmose and a meeting has been set. He looks forward to greeting you." Jacob paused.  
  
"Jacob?" Spike had sensed his hesitation.  
  
"My Lord. He said he would hold a feast in your honour."  
  
Silence fell in the room. Spike rose from the throne and paced the room. Buffy, for once doing what she was told, stood up and followed him at a pace behind. Xander stayed where he was, reclining on the steps but watchful.  
  
"This is most unfortunate" Spike said. "Spike will be required to take over during the feast. Is there no way to avoid this?"  
  
Jacob shook his head. "I am sorry My Lord. The feast is being held in your honour. You will be required to attend and to feed."  
  
"Will My Lord be expected to provide as well as receive?" Sam Finn's quiet subservient voice echoed through the room.  
  
"No." Jacob was relieved about this as this had also worried him slightly. He knew this was something which might come up and was thankful that the First Prime of Ahmose had confirmed that on this occasion, they would be enjoying the entire hospitality of Ahmose.  
  
"I have a question, My Lord?" O'Neill was attempting to sound submissive and failing completely.  
  
"Speak" Spike gestured.  
  
"May I ask what you will be feeding upon?"  
  
Selmak relinquished control and Spike turned and faced them all. "It is likely that they will be female, probably young."  
  
"Better flavour?" O'Neill couldn't help himself.  
  
"Exactly." Spike did not even smile. "It is doubtful anyone will die. When feeding, vampires can drain a person dry. But when feasting, it is the fashion to take a taste. Many different tastes. Even if I was required to provide dinner, I could guarantee that you would all walk out of here alive. Slightly worse for the wear, but you would be alive."  
  
"Spike? You talk like Selmak," Buffy smiled and he looked down at her with a half smile. He tugged at the collar round her neck until it revealed the scarring on her neck.  
  
"We'll keep yours on show."  
  
She nodded. Spike lowered his eyes and they gleamed as Selmak took control again.  
  
"It would be usual for my personal slaves to display marks of my favour."  
  
"You said we wouldn't need to be marked," Xander said defensively. "I like my neck as it is thank you very much."  
  
"Indeed, which I why I think it best if Xander and Riley Finn swap places. Spike looked up at Riley who had a mutinous expression on his face, anticipating what was coming.  
  
"You've been bitten too?" O'Neill stared as Riley Finn tugged the collar down to reveal the faint scarring on his neck. It was not as obvious as Buffy's but it would do. "Who did that?"  
  
"No one you know." Riley answered sharply. He handed the staff weapon to Xander and took his place on the steps.  
  
Spike paced back to his throne and sat down again, Buffy sinking to her knees at his feet. Xander came to perfect military attention and O'Neill raised his eyebrows, swapping a glance with Jacob. There was something about this boy O'Neill liked. He reminded him a little of himself and lot of his son. O'Neill jerked his thoughts off that track and concentrated back on the discussion which was taking place.  
  
"Then the stage is set."  
  
The first thing that assaulted Buffy's senses when they transported aboard Ahmose's ship was the brightness. She blinked a few times, waiting for her eyes to adjust. She wanted to look round but knew she couldn't. Instead she stood, her arms at her sides, her eyes looking straight ahead of her. The First Prime of Ahmose was a tall slender man. He wore a similar outfit to that of the men in her group and she mentally rated him an 8.9 on the hotness scale.  
  
"You are most welcome, My Lord." The First Prime inclined his head and then turned sharply on his heel to walk down the room. Sam Carter and Sam Finn followed with Spike behind them. Buffy and Riley walked side by side, with Xander and O'Neill behind them, staff weapons held at the ready.  
  
The corridor opened out into a large room, ornately decorated. The amount of flesh that was on show made Buffy glad that she had insisted that Dawn not come. By Ahmose's standards Buffy and the other girls were dressed like nuns. Some of the women in this room were topless, some were dressed in little more than skimpy bikinisand some were in outfits that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Ahmose was seated on a large throne, a beautiful girl, perhaps only a year or so older then Dawn, sat at his feet. His hand lay languidly on the thigh of another girl who was perched on the arm of his throne. Buffy couldn't help staring at him. He was one of the beautiful creatures she had ever seen in her life and that life had included an intimate relationship with Angel who was pretty damn attractive. She managed to avoid staring or letting her jaw drop but remained impassive.  
  
His dark hair was drawn away from his face, revealing an impressive pair of cheekbones, large dark eyes with almost feminine lashes and a well shaped sensual mouth. He was dressed in a similar fashion to Spike, but where Spike was pale skinned, Ahmose had smooth burnished copper skin. He was muscular and reminded her of a cobra she had seen once, poised to strike. There was a lot of strength there. She idly wondered how old he was.  
  
Ahmose's First Prime was in the throes of an impressive introduction which included phrases like Lord of the Stars and King of the Moon. When he had finished, Jacob answered this speech with one equally impressive and peppered with plenty of grand titles. Spike and Ahmose inclined their heads in greeting and Ahmose stood from his throne, shifting the girl who had been sitting next to him, off on to the floor. The girl who had been sitting at his feet rose and Buffy guessed that she was her equivalent. She was human, dressed in nothing more than a tiny wrap skirt made out of some see through floaty material and a tiny piece of fabric beneath it, masquerading as underwear. She was topless and her skin was golden and shone as though it had been oiled. Her collar was gold and revealed the marks in her neck, as Buffy's did.  
  
Ahmose descended the steps, the girl behind him, until he came face to face with Spike.  
  
"I am honoured with your hospitality" Spike said and Ahmose's face broke into a smile.  
  
"Come, brother" he said jovially, "none of this ceremony between us." Spike smiled back and managed not to jump when he was embraced firmly by Ahmose.  
  
"I am doubly honoured," Spike said and Ahmose laughed out loud.  
  
Buffy exchanged a tiny look with Jacob Carter who was hiding his surprise well. This was not what they had expected at all. Buffy mentally crossed her fingers and hoped that their team would trust Spike and Selmak enough to go what they were told because, after all, they were the ones who were in control here. Jacob's words about a slave exchange reminded her that they could be split up and this was not an environment she wanted to stay in.  
  
"Come, sit with me." Ahmose led Spike and his entourage out of the throne room and into another large adjoining room, hung with beautiful tapestries, two large chaise lounges set facing each other, a large table between them. Ahmose sank down on one of them, his personal slave, taking a seat near his head, her feet tucked up beneath her. Spike lounged on the other, Buffy and Riley taking their cue from the other slave.  
  
Ahmose clapped his hands and two little girls appeared. Unlike the rest of Ahmose's slaves, they were modestly dressed in little toga style dresses, their hair plaited neatly against their heads.  
  
"They will make sure your slaves are well cared for" he said expansively. "Food and wine, whatever they desire."  
  
Spike gestured for the rest of the team to follow the children but a hand on Buffy's shoulder told her that she and Riley should stay behind.  
  
O'Neill lengthened his stride and caught up with Jacob, lowering his voice to a whisper.  
  
"That wasn't supposed to happen."  
  
"No it wasn't."  
  
"Are we up shit creek yet?"  
  
"No yet." Jacob threw him a tiny look. "But close." 


End file.
